Mr. Chairman,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

The Candidate Countries Albania, Montenegro and the Republic of North Macedonia, the country of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidate Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the Republic of Moldova and Georgia align themselves with this statement.

Mr. Chairman,

The Member States of the European Union abstained on the adoption of the resolution A/C.2/74/L.5/Rev.1 entitled “Unilateral Economic Measures as a Means of Political and Economic Coercion against Developing Countries”.

The European Union and its Member States are of the view that unilateral economic measures should respect the principles of international law, including the international contractual obligations of the State applying them and the rules of the World Trade Organization where applicable.

The European Union and its Member States consider that such unilateral economic measures are admissible in certain circumstances in particular when necessary in order to fight terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, or to uphold respect for human rights, democracy, the rule of law and good governance.

The European Union and its Member States are committed to using sanctions as part of an integrated, comprehensive policy approach which should include political dialogue, incentives, conditionality and could even involve, as a last resort, the use of coercive measures in accordance with the United Nations Charter.

Thank you.