Check against delivery

Excellency, Distinguished Delegates, Esteemed Colleagues,

I deliver this statement on behalf of the EU and its Member States.

The Candidate Countries North Macedonia, Serbia, Albania, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Georgia, and the EFTA countries Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Andorra and San Marino align themselves with this statement.

As we approach 2030, the finish line for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the urgency to modernize and strengthen our multilateral system has never been greater. 

In that perspective, we welcome the launch by the Secretary-General of the UN80 Initiative to make the UN truly “fit for purpose” working across all three pillars of the UN.

ECOSOC stands at the heart of this transformation. For 80 years, it has played a crucial role in coordinating the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of development, fostering inclusive dialogue, and driving collective action. As we look forward, we must ask ourselves: How can ECOSOC evolve to meet the needs of a rapidly changing world?

We would have 3 messages.

First, we need a more streamlined, efficient, and responsive development system — one that is better coordinated, more accountable, more impactful and more aligned with the needs of countries and set goals. That means consolidating overlapping structures, empowering Resident Coordinators to lead with clarity at the country level responding to country needs, and streamlining our funding models. It also means measuring our impact more effectively, based on evidence, and ensuring transparency at every level. 

In this regard, we welcome the outcomes of last year’s QCPR, which reaffirmed the importance of the One UN approach under the leadership of the UN Resident Coordinators. In QCPR, we also recognized the vital role of ECOSOC and its Operational Activities Segment as key platforms for tracking both achievements and ongoing challenges as we move closer to the 2030 deadline for delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals including in fragile, conflict and post-conflict countries through peacebuilding and sustaining peace and employing peace and development advisers.

Second, today’s system is burdened by fragmentation—too many bodies with overlapping roles, too many resolutions with little follow-up, and not enough alignment between the General Assembly, ECOSOC, and their respective mandates. Reforming central governance means simplifying and integrating these structures to coordinate efforts across the Secretariat and the system. 

In this aspect, we need ECOSOC to be more than a forum — we need it to become a driver of coherence and coordination. By strengthening ECOSOC’s mandate, simplifying its structure, and better integrating its outcomes into broader UN decision-making, we can unlock its full potential including its functional commissions as a force for coordination, accountability, and strategic guidance in achieving the 2030 Agenda.

Third, as we embark on the intergovernmental review at the General Assembly’s 80th session and assess the Council’s machinery, we must strengthen ECOSOC’s ability to address complex challenges in uncertain times, which demands coherence between humanitarian-development-peace actors. 

Next year’s Review of the ECOSOC and the High-Level Political Forum, mandated for the 80th General Assembly session, can certainly help us in turning ECOSOC into a genuine “accountability and solutions chamber” to serve that goal. Even though the past reviews brought some achievements, we should spare no efforts to strengthen the ECOSOC so that it can better deliver on its UN Charter role and the UN80 Initiative can assist us in this regard. 

By revitalizing ECOSOC, we are not simply strengthening the Council; we are renewing the promise of multilateralism itself—rooted in solidarity, guided by human rights, and powered by a commitment to leave no one behind.

Colleagues,

As we commemorate 80 years of multilateral achievements, let us demonstrate that we are prepared to evolve, to adapt, and to deliver at the scale and speed that today’s global challenges demand.

Thank you.