EU Presidency Statement - Fifth Committee Work

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union.

The Central and Eastern European countries associated with the European Union; Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia and the associated countries Cyprus, Malta and Turkey, as well as the EFTA countries members of the EEA, Iceland and Norway align themselves with this statement.

Let me start by congratulating Mr. Ramesh Chandra on the occasion of his election as Vice Chairman, and to express our great appreciation to the outgoing Vice Chairman, Mr. Hae-yun Park, for his excellent work. We also want to welcome back the Chairman and all other members of the Bureau, as well as the Committee secretariat, to this First Resumed Session of the Fifth Committee. As always, the European Union is committed to working closely with you to ensure a successful outcome of our deliberations.

Mr. Chairman,

As this is a personnel year it is only fitting that the First Resumed Session will be dominated by the issue of Human Resources Management. As the European Union underlined in its opening statement under this agenda item in the autumn, we consider the action taken and changes proposed by the Secretary General, as outlined in his report A/55/253, essential to the continued improvement of delivery of the United Nations programmes and their practical effects. Through these continuing efforts the United Nations will be able to rely on management with true decision-making power, a sense of responsibility and accountability, and highly qualified staff. As before, the European Union wants to place the staff of the United Nations, which is an invaluable asset of the Organisation, at the centre of our concerns.

Mr. Chairman,

The European Union is pleased with the proposed programme of work. Apart from Human Resources Management, a number of other issues on our agenda have already been extensively discussed in the autumn. We are therefore convinced that we will be able to resolve several of these issues during this First Resumed Session.

The European Union also continues to attach great importance to the question of the application of article 19 in the Charter. We recall the decision taken by the General Assembly last autumn to modify the application, and look forward to the report from the Committee on Contributions on the implementation of the decision.

In conclusion, the European Union believes that the three weeks made available to the Fifth Committee for the Resumed Session will be sufficient. In order for smaller delegations to be able to participate fully in the Session evening and night meetings, as well as weekend meetings, should be avoided.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

| Top |

• EU Presidency Statement - Internal Oversight Services  (15/3/2001)
• EU Presidency Statement - Fifth Committee (14/3/2001)