EU Statement at CCPCJ35 on Strategic management, budgetary and administrative questions, 2 June 2026

EU Statement at CCPCJ35 on Strategic management, budgetary and administrative questions, 2 June 2026

Mr Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States. Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Montenegro, North Macedonia, the Republic of Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine align themselves with this statement.

Let me begin by expressing our gratitude to the current Chair of the FINGOV, Ambassador Jose Antonio Zabalgoitia of Mexico, for his excellent leadership and for effectively guiding the work of FINGOV by making it a meaningful, transparent and inclusive process.

The EU and its Member States welcome the series of FINGOV consultations, which aim to foster efficient dialogue on funding needs, priority-setting, and strategic vision, while preparing for the development of the UNODC upcoming strategy.

We take this opportunity to once again welcome and recognise the commitment of Ms Monica Juma, Executive Director of the UNODC, to engaging with Member States since her assumption of office. Her emphasis on finalising the UNODC Corporate Strategy, together with a reform plan, as outlined in her inaugural address, has been particularly welcomed.

Mr Chair,

We see a momentum building for UNODC reform with the implementation of the UN80 initiative, which the EU strongly supports from the outset.

We reaffirm our clear commitment in driving forward the process, in a system-wide approach, to ensure the United Nations is effective, cost-efficient, impactful and responsive. The EU believes UNODC reform is both needed and possible. It is an opportunity for the organisation to deliver better on its mandate while addressing the liquidity crisis and funding cuts.

Mr Chair,

Together, the EU and its Member States are among the largest contributors to UNODC's budget. The EU's multi-year project funding with UNODC currently exceeds €300 million. Between 2016 and 2024, the EU and its Member States provided USD 968 million in voluntary contributions to UNODC.

In 2025, the EU and its Member States contributed over €116 million - equivalent to 23% of UNODC's voluntary funding for that year.This demonstrates the confidence and value the EU and its Member States put in UNODC's action. It gives us a particular responsibility in monitoring the continue and adequate funding of UNODC's activities.

Given the UNODC's extreme reliance on extra-budgetary funding - which accounts for 95% of its budget - it is essential that the Office continue to strengthen its resource-mobilisation model and broaden its donor base to ensure adequate, predictable and sustainable funding across its mandates. We believe normative and intergovernmental UNODC activities linked to treaty-based obligations should be covered under the UN regular budget.

To attract increased voluntary funding, we consider it crucial to enhance the visibility and transparency surrounding donor contributions. In this regard, we appreciate the "Open data on partnerships and funding" platform as a useful tool to inform on voluntary contributions and we request the secretariat to update the platform with the 2025 data.

Mr Chair,

The work of the UNODC remains crucially important in today's world where cross-border threats - stemming from transnational organised crime impacting the health and security of our societies - are becoming increasingly multi-faceted and more pressing.

The EU and its Member States are committed to implementing the UNGA resolution on the mandate implementation review (GA/RES/80/251) in the context of the UNODC. We call for a similar comprehensive mandate review of the UNODC to be shared to Member States through the FINGOV.

From our perspective, the UNODC's priorities should encompass its normative role in setting standards, developing policies and providing guidance to ensure the effective implementation of UN treaties related to drugs, crime (including human trafficking and the smuggling of migrants), corruption, cybercrime and terrorism prevention.

The EU also highly values technical cooperation and, in this regard, stresses the importance of preserving the UNODC's strong field presence. We also stress the importance of the UN standards and norms in crime prevention and criminal justice.

The EU vigorously supports the implementation by UNODC of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals as a core priority mandated by the General Assembly and ECOSOC.

Mr Chair,

Safeguarding the human rights pillar, advancing gender equality and promoting environmental sustainability are, and will remain, a priority for the EU. Human rights, gender equality, a healthy environment, health and the protection of individuals in vulnerable situations provide essential foundations for effective crime prevention, drug control and combating corruption and terrorism.

This comprehensive approach is an essential condition of UNODC's capability to deliver robust and effective policies.

Let me conclude by highlighting that the EU remains strongly attached to ensuring multilingualism at the UN. The EU is concerned about the current liquidity crisis, as it puts multilingualism at risk. A sufficient pool of interpreters must be available to ensure full interpretation coverage for all official meetings. Let me emphasise here that UN Member States must pay their contributions in full and on time.

Thank you.