EU Statement – UN General Assembly: Interactive Dialogues with candidates for the position of President of the 81st Session of the General Assembly (PGA81)

EU Statement - UN General Assembly: Interactive Dialogues with candidates for the position of President of the 81st Session of the General Assembly (PGA81)

13 May 2026, New York - Statement on behalf of the European Union and its Member States by H.E. Ambassador Stavros Lambrinidis, Head of the European Union Delegation to the United Nations, at the UN General Assembly Interactive Dialogues with candidates for the position of President of the 81st Session of the General Assembly (PGA81)

Madam President,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States, as active promoters of the central role of the General Assembly and as committed political, financial, and operational backers of the implementation of GA mandates under all three UN pillars.

To that effect, the EU and its Member States have been at the heart of negotiations on seminal General Assembly resolutions, including the Pact for the Future and the Sevilla Commitment. We also lead on countless cross-regional initiatives of critical importance for peace and security, development, and human rights, including the resolution on the Rights of the Child together with Uruguay and the resolution on human rights in Myanmar together with the OIC. We support reform efforts, in the framework of the UN80 Initiative, to increase system-wide efficiency and make the UN more effective for the people it serves. In every instance, we are focused on building with partners the necessary trust, cross-regional alliances, and compromises to ensure the broadest possible consensus.

We will support all efforts of the next PGA to ensure that the Assembly remains a credible platform for dialogue, collective action, and cooperation over division. The next PGA must also ensure advancing the work of the General Assembly across all three pillars, safeguard the GA's normative authority, ensure the effective implementation of its decisions and support the continued progress in the UN80 reform agenda.

Against this backdrop, we would like to ask the following questions:

• How would you concretely help promote, substantively and procedurally, the effective implementation of GA resolutions, as also mandated by the recent resolution on UN80 mandate reform? How, in your view, could GA Committees become more engaged and effective in the implementation of GA mandates, including those created by the Pact of the Future?

• What concrete initiatives are you planning to propose to build further trust, cooperation, and dialogue among the UN membership and to reduce polarization during your tenure and, if so, which ones?

• How would you envision the authority of the General Assembly on matters of peace and security -- in cases where the UNSC fails to act, and more broadly - if elected, how would you exercise such authority?

Thank you.