EU Presidency Statement - Scale of Assessments

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, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia, the associated countries Cyprus and Malta, as well as the EFTA countries member of the EEA Norway and Iceland, align themselves with this statement

At the outset, we would like to thank Mr Gilpin for introducing the report of the Secretary General.

Mr. Chairman,

The payment of assessed contributions in full, on time, and without conditions is a pre-requisite for putting United Nations finances on a sound and sustainable long term footing. As you know, Mr Chairman, "on time" in this connection means within the 30 days applicable for payment of contributions to the Organisation.

The European Union attaches great importance to article 19 of the Charter, which provides the sole mechanism to ensure payment of assessed contributions, and we would like to see Article 19 applied in a fair and consistent manner. In this connection, the European Union would also like to underline the absolutely essential role of the Committee on Contributions, which is the expert body with the task to give definitive guidance to the General Assembly in this regard.

Despite the mechanism of Article 19, problems remain, as was outlined by USG Connor on 22 March in his presentation on the Financial Situation of the United Nations. Member States in persistent and unjustified arrears erode the effectiveness of the Organisation. Allow me, however, in this context to stress that the modalities of Article 19 are not directed at Member States with genuine difficulties, for which the Charter and the role of the Committee on Contributions make full provision.

Mr Chairman,

The European Union recalls the decision by the General Assembly in resolution A/RES/55/5 in October of last year, to modify the application of Article 19.

The Secretary General was requested to review the implication of the calculation of arrears, for the purpose of the application of Article 19, at the beginning of each calendar year and at the beginning of the financial peacekeeping period. The European Union welcomes the Secretary General´s report on this and other important aspects, including the granting of exceptions, of the application of Article 19.

Furthermore, the General Assembly decided in the resolution to compare arrears with the amount actually assessed and payable for the preceding two full years for the purpose of the application of Article 19, that is to use the so called net-net calculation. In keeping with the resolution, we now turn to the issue of the implementation of that decision, and await the recommendations of the Committee on Contributions in this regard.

Mr. Chairman,

In conclusion, the European Union looks forward to the report by the Committee on Contributions on the implementation of the decision to modify the application of Article 19 of the Charter of the United Nations. The report will no doubt constitute an important contribution to our discussions on this issue in the autumn.

I thank you.

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