The European Commission - United Nations relationship

European Commission President Barroso had a meeting on 18 July with the UNSG Kofi Annan. It was an opportunity to make an assessment of the ongoing Commission-UN relationship, that has significantly widened in recent years (the EC funding of UN projects has increased by 370% in the period 1999-2004, it is today above 1 billion EUR per year). The Commission-UN relationship is today covering a network of co-operation spanning the entire range of EU external relations from conflict prevention to human rights, from development to humanitarian affairs, from trade to social and environmental matters.

President Barroso and UNSG Kofi Annan also exchanged views on the alarming escalation of violence in Lebanon and Gaza and the situation on three crisis areas in particular: East Timor, Iran and Sudan. "We must now all do whatever we can to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East" declared Barroso and Annan. "I fully support the Secretary General's call for a stabilization force" added President Barroso. Concerning the situation on Timor, President Barroso considers that the International Community needs to support the new government of Ramos Horta, appointed on 10 July. "We support a strong UN role and would like to see a new UN mission with a military and police component to assist in security through the next elections and until the situation is fully stabilized".

Regarding Iran, if Tehran does not offer a satisfactory response and it does not commit to find a win-win compromise on the basis of the E3+3 (US, China, Russia) proposal, "we must all stand together and be prepared to take effective action, through the UN Security Council" said the EC president. Recalling the difficulties of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) on Sudan, President Barroso said that the Darfur Conference in Brussels, which Mr Annan and Commissioner Michel attend today, is a very important event for the international community. "We expect a positive outcome regarding the African Union mission in Darfur",. In European view, the implementation of the security arrangements requires a transition towards the UN peacekeeping forces in a very near future.

To learn more about European Commission President Barroso, please visit his homepage:
http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/president/index_en.htm

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