European Union

Mr. President, Excellencies, Honourable Delegates,

The Security Council chamber is adorned with a mural.

The Norwegian painter Per Krohg depicted a phoenix there. It rises from a world covered in ashes, rebuilding itself after war.

The lower part of the mural is dark. One sees a dragon, soldiers and machines of war.

The United Nations was founded to protect us from our demons.

To raise the global community toward peace, cooperation, solidarity.

And yet… The climate crisis is wreaking havoc. The global effort to combat poverty is weakening. Russia's war against Ukraine is worsening food insecurity and causing an energy crisis.

We are losing the sense of urgency that the pandemic instilled in us.

"One Earth, One Family, One Future." This is the mantra of the Indian G20 presidency.

We do indeed form a planetary family. And the United Nations constitutes its backbone. But as Secretary-General Guterres says, this family is dysfunctional.

The European Union wants a multipolar world, one that cooperates and progresses toward greater democracy and greater respect for human rights.

But trust is eroding. Tensions are multiplying.

A dangerous bipolar confrontation threatens us. As if everyone had to choose one side against the other.

Like the frantic race for nuclear weapons in the last century, artificial intelligence, especially in the military domain, is becoming the terrain of geopolitical competition.

The late Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld wisely said: "The United Nations was not created to bring us to paradise, but to save us from hell."

The United Nations system is today stiffened, hampered by hostile forces.

We must put multilateral cooperation back on solid tracks. To do this, we need to:

Restore trust.

Resolve the most urgent problems.

Repair the United Nations system.

1. Trust: protecting principles, the Charter

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Trust is founded on respect for the sacred principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter.

Respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, and human rights.

Yet for 19 months now, a permanent member of the Security Council, Russia, has been waging a war of conquest against a neighbouring country that never threatened it.

And this with its share of horror and contempt for human life.

The General Assembly has repeatedly condemned Russia's war against Ukraine.

This is of course a powerful reminder of the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.

But it has not stopped the Kremlin in its deadly venture. Nor curbed its sense of impunity…

Impunity will not last forever. The moment of justice will come.

The European Union will relentlessly support Ukraine in the exercise of its right to self-defence.

2. Resolving urgent challenges: climate and development

Dear colleagues,

This war against Ukraine has not made the other major challenges facing the world disappear.

The planet is boiling over.

The world is torn apart by poverty and injustice.

There will be no miracle if we do not decide to mobilize the necessary financing. Now.

Climate

We have collectively committed to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees. Yet if we stick to the plans announced to date, our planet's warming will reach 2.5 degrees by the end of the century.

We must pull ourselves together!

The European Union has raised its targets for the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency.

We call for a tripling of renewable energy targets, a position followed by the G20, and a doubling of energy efficiency targets by 2030.

And it is also in the interest of all advanced countries to strengthen the capacities of developing countries to move toward carbon neutrality.

Only a quarter of global private investment is made in developing countries.

Yet the G20 is responsible for 80% of global emissions…

And it is only this year that the international community should reach the $100 billion mark for international climate action financing.

The European Union has been a driving force behind this, with $26 billion in 2021, more than its fair share.

Together, we will need to do much more.

The International Energy Agency estimates that global investment in the energy transition must reach $5 trillion per year by 2030 — yes, more than 4% of global GDP. And remain at that level until 2050 to achieve net zero.

At the upcoming COP28 in Dubai, we must set up the financing for the Loss and Damage Fund decided last year in Sharm el-Sheikh.

Finally, natural disasters are following one another at a dizzying pace.

On every continent. As recently again in Libya.

A global disaster fund is more necessary than ever to ensure rapid and equitable aid, and to strengthen our collective resilience.

And prevention is essential.

Hence the importance of the work we support, within the United Nations, on the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Likewise, trade is a powerful lever for combining climate challenges and prosperity. We call for an urgent solution to the dispute settlement mechanism at the World Trade Organization.

Development

Excellencies,

The economic and financial situation of vulnerable economies has been severely affected by the COVID-19 crisis and Russia's war in Ukraine.

More than 50 low-income countries have defaulted on their debt. About a dozen others could follow.

Because debt servicing has crowded out spending on social protection, health and education, 165 million people worldwide have fallen into poverty.

No one should be forced to choose between poverty reduction and greening the economy.

We cannot afford the luxury of a new debate over the amount of charity handouts.

It is about making the global financial system more robust and more just. And better prepared for the 21st century.

The reallocation of $100 billion in Special Drawing Rights is an important step. And we must do more.

We also support the "SDG Stimulus" presented by Secretary-General Guterres.

The European Union is fully committed to implementing the G20 Common Framework for debt action.

Reforming the global financial framework

Excellencies,

It is the Bretton Woods system that must be reformed in depth.

More equitable.

More inclusive.

And more effective.

That is the goal.

These institutions were created when many countries were still under colonial rule. Since then, the world has changed.

Yet the G7 countries still hold near-absolute decision-making power within them.

The European Union is ready to share power more fairly.

Because the regions that have virtually no say in these matters must be better involved in the decisions that concern them.

Secondly, a financing shock is needed.

Entire swaths of the world are deprived of access to financing.

This hinders progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals. But it also increases the risk of a debt crisis.

The Paris Summit for a New Global Financing Pact — convened by the French President and the Prime Minister of Barbados — has charted the way forward.

As Mia Mottley said: "It is now a matter of speed, and of scale. (…) We must do what is necessary, but we must do it in time, and for the right reasons!"

Public capital must be better used to leverage private investment.

We must increase this essential safety net that is the lending capacity of international financial institutions.

One example: over 60 years, the World Bank's financing power as a proportion of global output has been divided by 7!

And we must reduce the cost of access to credit for vulnerable countries, which is several times higher than for advanced countries.

We must also adapt the capital adequacy rules of multilateral development banks.

This will allow for more dynamic use of their balance sheets without jeopardizing their soundness.

Health

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Exactly three years ago, I launched with Dr. Tedros the idea of an international treaty on pandemics.

Together, we convinced the international community to launch negotiations within the framework of the WHO.

The world needs an ambitious and legally binding instrument to prevent future pandemics, prepare for them, and respond to them.

It must benefit everyone, and particularly developing countries and the most vulnerable.

I now call on the parties to redouble their efforts to conclude the negotiations by May 2024. The European Union is working toward this with determination.

We remain an open and attentive negotiating partner.

3. Repairing the system

Dear colleagues,

The Secretary-General and his teams are the driving force behind considerable action in service of humanity.

But United Nations governance is too often hampered.

The European Union supports the reform proposals put forward by the Secretary-General in "Our Common Agenda."

We also welcome the progress made on working methods.

Today, I wish to bring a new perspective to the debate on United Nations reform.

And three proposals. On the right of veto. On representativeness. And on the role that should be given to regional organizations.

On these matters, I call for an amendment to the United Nations Charter.

Veto

We must review the way we make decisions within the Security Council.

The right of veto in its current form is being abused. It leads to the Council's powerlessness.

A permanent member of the Security Council can flagrantly violate our Charter and international law…

It is all the more shocking that it has the right to veto sanctions against itself. And that it exploits the Security Council for purposes of propaganda and disinformation.

The Charter provides that a member of the Security Council shall abstain from voting in a matter concerning itself.

I call on the other members of the Council to invoke this clause when Russia might be concerned.

The European Union supports the initiative of France and Mexico aimed at limiting the right of veto in cases of mass atrocities.

We support the code of conduct for Security Council action against genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

And all efforts aimed at strengthening the transparency and accountability of the Security Council.

Within the framework of Charter reform, I believe we must establish a mechanism that combines majority decision-making with a moderate and adjustable use of the right of veto.

Representativeness

Second: representativeness.

The Security Council does not reflect today's world.

To this day, 60 countries have never sat on the Security Council.

Entire regions of the world — Africa, South America, the Caribbean, Asia — are little or not represented at all. We support a comprehensive reform of the United Nations Security Council by strengthening the voice of these regions and countries.

Power and legitimacy go hand in hand. Because of its lack of representativeness, the Security Council is seeing its legitimacy erode.

Yet legitimacy is key and must be strengthened on two levels.

The United Nations, as its name indicates, is a club of nations.

When we consider reforming the multilateral system, we regard the nation-state as its basic unit.

An increased number of permanent members on the Security Council is inevitable.

We must go further.

Regional or continental organizations today play a growing role. The European Union, of course, the African Union, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), ASEAN…

These organizations reflect a new level of legitimacy in international or multilateral forums.

They play a role in political and economic coordination among their members. They create spaces for close cooperation.

They are also becoming normative spaces.

This is the case with European integration. But this example inspires others. Such as the African Union, which is working to create a large common trade area.

These organizations exert growing influence in the multilateral arena. They are essential contributors to stability.

Their role must grow within the multilateral system. Because they structure the multipolar world we call for.

It is for this reason that, through my voice, the European Union immediately supported the call by Senegalese President Macky Sall to include the African Union as a full member of the G20.

Last Sunday, right here, we held a trilateral meeting between the United Nations, the African Union and the European Union.

I am convinced that the United Nations would gain in legitimacy and effectiveness if it made room within itself for regional organizations.

This inclusion would create a virtuous circle. It would encourage regional organizations to cooperate more and better with one another, contributing to their own stability.

And their stabilizing capacity would thereby be all the more strengthened within multilateral cooperation.

I will soon take the initiative of convening an institutional summit between the European Union, the African Union, CELAC, ASEAN, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

The aim is to consider how our organizations can act in concert to strengthen the multilateral system.

Within the framework of the United Nations and in other international forums.

Conclusion

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The European Union is a strong global partner. Multilateral cooperation is in our DNA.

The EU and its Member States are the world's leading donor in development and peacekeeping.

Including in regions where conflicts drag on desperately.

In the Sahel, successive military coups are increasing instability and insecurity, under the pretext of reducing them.

And from here I wish to send a message of friendship and personal support to the President of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum, imprisoned for 56 days in his own home by a military junta.

In the Middle East, we maintain that a lasting peace will only come when Palestinians and Israelis live in security within the framework of the two-state solution.

In the South Caucasus, the latest devastating developments shock us. Military force is never a lasting solution when one wishes to win hearts and minds.

Everywhere, the European Union will continue to shoulder its responsibilities, together with all those who wish to work for the common good.

The EU will never be intimidated by violence or blackmail.

Dear colleagues,

Per Krohg's mural is an act of imagination. But also a reminder to our consciences.

Today more than ever, faced with a world confronted by numerous dangers.

The philosopher Friedrich Hölderlin said: "Where there is danger, there also lies the power to save."

Facing these dangers, we hold the vision of a better world.

We have powerful means at our disposal.

I believe in the power of collective intelligence.

It is up to us to act.

Now.

To make the world more just, more free and more prosperous.

Thank you.