EU-UN relations: Council info and EU Publications

The conclusions renew the EU’s determination to promote multilateral solutions based on the UN Charter, and back the UN Secretary General’s drive for 'peace in all its dimensions' and call for international cooperation to that end.

The conclusions restate that multilateralism is a fundamental principle of the EU.

The European Union and the United Nations are the world’s leading proponents and defenders of the multilateral and rules-based global governance system. Cooperation between the European Union and the United Nations system, including the UN Secretariat and the various UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes, spans across all policy areas.

Includes press releases, highlights, publications, images, blogs, stories and practical information about the EU's relations with the UN.

The United Nation’s Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, said it clearly two months ago: “Humanity faces a stark and urgent choice: breakdown or breakthrough”, he wrote in Our Common Agenda report. No doubt that the European Union has made its choice for a breakthrough, through an inclusive and effective multilateralism and reconfirms it while marking, today, the 76th Anniversary of the UN.

The increasing likelihood of Agenda 2030 objectives not being met within the expected timeframe calls for major transformation in: SDGs’ financing; ecology and green recovery; citizens’ empowerment; political commitment to collective action; as well as cooperation between public, private and non-profit sectors. Achieving SDGs would be better served by adopting an overarching EU strategy for the Agenda 2030, to include: SDGs in the European Semester; the Green Deal; countries’ recovery processes; increased collaboration between EU and United Nations institutions; and support for other countries in levelling up SDG achievements globally. This would not only provide positive signals for reassuring Agenda 2030 but also enhance countries’ commitment to sustainability. This In-Depth Analysis aims to assist the European Parliament by contributing to policy and legislative debates ahead of the 2023 SDG Summit.

The UN 2030 Agenda and its SDGs are increasingly gaining momentum as a vehicle to foster a sustainable development transition. The EC is a frontrunner in this transition process and its political priorities are strongly linked with the SDGs. This report contributes to the mainstreaming of the SDGs by analysing how the policy initiatives of the current Commission are semantically linked to the 2030 Agenda and to SDGs.

The ASILE project studies the changing relationship between containment and mobility amongst the key asylum governance instruments and actors from both an international comparative and European Union (EU) perspective and from the European Union (EU). It aims to inform the EU’s role in the implementation of the United Nations Global Compact on Refugees (UN GCR). This Policy Brief outlines and synthesizes the preliminary findings and policy recommendations emerging from the first 18 months of the ASILE project which started in December 2019.

In September 2020, the European Commission published what it described as a New Pact on Migration and Asylum (emphasis added) that lays down a multi-annual policy agenda on issues that have been central to debate about the future of European integration. This work critically examines the new Pact as part of a Forum organized by the Horizon 2020 project ASILE – Global Asylum Governance and the EU’s Role.

Le présent document propose une analyse exhaustive du rôle de l’Union européenne au sein de l’Organisation des Nations unies (ONU), qui fête cette année son 75e anniversaire. Il analyse le statut de l’Union européenne dans les organes principaux de l’ONU ainsi que dans ses institutions spécialisées et autres organisations apparentées, et examine les contributions financières de l’Union au système des Nations unies et les divers moyens dont elle use pour exercer une influence au sein de celui-ci.

Also available in English: European Union involvement in the United Nations system : broad partnership based on shared commitment to multilateralism - in-depth analysis

This briefing explains how the current reform differs from previous ones, in as much as it focuses on management and addresses the criticisms of a lack of accountability and transparency, ineffectiveness, and the deficit in trust between the organisation and its member states in the current system. The United Nations reform agenda centres on three key areas: development, management, and peace and security.

The EU has constantly affirmed its support for multilateralism, and in particular for the United Nations (UN), with which it shares core values. Article 21 of the Treaty on European Union puts respect for the principles of the UN Charter among the guiding principles of EU action on the international scene. The EU and its Member States contribute one third to the total UN budget. Although the EU's status within the UN system varies (from full member to simple observer), the EU is the regional organisation having gained the strongest voice in the UN. The EU supports the reform agenda initiated by UN Secretary-General António Guterres. The European Parliament is a strong supporter of rules-based multilateralism. It follows the EU's activity in the UN closely, and regularly adopts recommendations to the Council of the EU on the priorities to be pursued by the EU at the UN General Assembly, and at major multilateral conferences such as the UN climate change conference.

The European Union and the UN are natural partners in the efforts to shape a more sustainable, safer and better world for all. To that end, the EU supports effective multilateralism and a rules-based international order with the UN at its core.

Sustainable development is a core principle of the Treaty on European Union and a priority objective for the EU's internal and external policies. The United Nations 2030 Agenda includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).