EU Presidency Statement - Report of ECOSOC

Mr. Chairman,

I have the honour to take the floor on behalf of the European Union. The countries of Central and Eastern Europe associated with the European Union (Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia) and the other associated countries (Cyprus, Malta and Turkey) and Iceland align themselves with this statement.

The European Union attaches considerable importance to the revitalisation of the Economic and Social Council, an objective recently reaffirmed by our Heads of State and Government in the Millennium Declaration. The Union welcomes the progress made in strengthening the Council's coordinating role over a number of years now, while believing that there remains a great deal still to be done in order to give it its rightful place in the United Nations system.

In this connection, the strengthening of ties between ECOSOC and the Bretton Woods institutions is seen by the European Union as imperative, given the key role played by those institutions on the international economic and social scene. Hence, the European Union can but applaud the closer cooperation with them established by the Economic and Social Council. The visit to New York by IMF administrators in October 1999, the trip to the World Bank by 30 ECOSOC Ambassadors in March 2000, the now customary high-level meeting in April 2000 and the recent visit to New York by the Fund's Managing Director, Mr Köhler, all confirm that a real partnership is being forged. We hope that the financing for development process will enable the various institutions to build up even further their knowledge of one another and their desire to work together in the future. We should also like to see the Bretton Woods institutions and the WTO play a very active part at the 3rd United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries.

Mr Chairman,

May I make a few comments on the Council's substantive session in July 2000? We consider the high-level segment to have been an unquestionable success. While the participation of the leaders of the main multilateral financial and commercial institutions and of high-level national representatives merely confirms the renewal of interest in the Council's activities observed in recent years, the massive private-sector participation is an innovation to be welcomed. The new features added at the instigation of the Council's President, such as the organisation of an information technology exhibition and the holding of working breakfasts on specific themes, brought a breath of fresh air to the segment and paved the way for new partnerships. In substantive terms, the high-level segment and the ministerial declaration adopted at it show a genuine political and institutional awareness of the challenges posed to the international community by the digital divide. The adoption of a resolution concerning the establishment of an information and communication technology task force demonstrates as well a resolve on all sides that this session should bring concrete action. It is our hope that the next high-level segment, to be devoted to Africa, will also bring tangible results.

Mr Chairman,

We are satisfied, too, with the coordination segment. As regards its main topic, the procedure for follow-up to major United Nations conferences, we would have preferred to see ECOSOC establish some broad guidelines straight away. However, the agreed conclusions adopted by the Council have the great merit, in our view, of setting in motion a process and ensuring further dialogue on the subject, both within the functional commissions and at ECOSOC's next substantive session. IN this dialogue, it is important to bear in mind that there is a clear linkage between the integrated and coordinated follow-up and implementation of the major UN conferences and summits and the implementation of the Millennium Declaration. The European Union will put forward some ideas on this issue at a later stage.

Mr Chairman,

The European Union is pleased at the general course taken by the segment on operational activities for development and at the adoption of two resolutions by consensus. It hopes that the next triennial review of operational activities for development will be conducted in a similar constructive atmosphere.

Mr. Chairman,

The European Union can but deplore that negotiations towards the adoption of agreed conclusions of the humanitarian segment have failed this year despite weeks of efforts. The lack of results is especially regrettable since both natural disasters and internal displacement crises require an appropriate response and since the victims of these humanitarian disasters need protection and assistance according to the same principles of international humanitarian law as those applied to all populations in need. The European Union wishes however to point out the various improvements made this year to the organization of the segment, in particular the remarkable quality of its panels, and to express the hope that the next humanitarian segment will provide again as it should useful guidelines for the coordination within the UN system in order to strengthen the multilateral channel of humanitarian assistance.

Mar Chairman,

Lastly, the European Union would like to point to its dissatisfaction with some organizational aspects of the last substantive session. Many reports submitted to the Council were distributed very late. Translations of them in the United Nations' various working languages were frequently not available until the last minute, thus preventing many delegations from giving them detailed consideration. Moreover, negotiations were very often held without interpreting facilities, in disregard of the principle of multilingualism. The European Union calls on the Secretariat and bureau members to ensure that there is no repeat of these difficulties another time and wishes to assure them of its fullest cooperation in the Economic and Social Council's future proceedings.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

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