EU Explanation of Position – UN General Assembly: Adoption of the PGA decision to establish a working group on work stream 2 of the UN80 Initiative

EU Explanation of Position - UN General Assembly: Adoption of the PGA decision to establish a working group on work stream 2 of the UN80 Initiative

2 September 2025, New York - European Union Explanation of Position delivered by Denmark at the 79th UN General Assembly after the adoption of the President of the General Assembly's decision to establish an informal ad hoc working group on work stream 2 of the UN80 initiative.

Mr. President,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

The Candidate Countries Türkiye, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Georgia, as well as Andorra, align themselves with this statement.

At the outset, we would like to thank you, Mr. President, for your efforts in driving this process forward and presenting the decision to establish the informal ad-hoc working group before us today.

Moreover, we wish to reiterate our unwavering commitment to multilateralism and to the efforts of the Secretary-General aimed at making the United Nations more effective, efficient, and impactful for the people it serves. We welcome the continued constructive engagement with the membership throughout this process.

The European Union embraces the UN80 Initiative as a transformative opportunity to shape a United Nations that is stronger, more agile and truly fit for the future. Together, we have the opportunity to ensure that the Organization remains financially sustainable and accountable, while safeguarding the integrity and balance of its three interlinked and mutually reinforcing pillars.

Mr. President,

This decision represents an important step in the right direction. The establishment of an informal ad hoc working group will allow us to carefully consider the proposals of the Secretary-General's Mandate Implementation Review and to identify principles and follow-up actions aimed at enhancing the creation, delivery, and review of mandates.

In this context, the European Union wish to underline the importance of:
• Learning from past reform processes to ensure that newly created mandates are impact-driven and results-oriented;
• reducing duplication and fragmentation across the UN system while keeping balance of the three UN pillars;
• keeping a flexible approach, so that the ad hoc working group can be the UN member states dedicated platform to consider the review of mandates, as well as linkages to other aspects related to UN80.
• support from the Secretariat to provide necessary and relevant information to the working group, thereby enabling it to engage in thorough analysis and deliberate in an informed and constructive manner
• and, perhaps most importantly, advancing this process in a spirit of consensus and inclusivity.

Mr President,

We would like to underscore that this is not merely a technical exercise. It is about ensuring that the UN is equipped to respond effectively to the most pressing challenges of our time. At 80 years old, the United Nations must remain not only relevant, but essential.

The European Union reaffirms its conviction that a stronger, more efficient, more transparent and accountable United Nations is in the interest of us all. The European Union and its Member States will continue to be a predictable, reliable and credible partner, ready to engage actively with all delegations and the co-chairs in this process to reinforce the foundations of our shared multilateral system, and to prepare this Organization for the challenges of the decades ahead. Let us work side by side to seize this moment and ensure that the United Nations continues to serve as a beacon of hope, solidarity, and collective action for generations to come.

Thank you.