European Union and the United Nations
Encyclopedia
The European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

 (EU) has been an observer member at the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

(UN) since 1974 and has had enhanced participation rights since 2011. The EU itself does not have voting rights but it is represented alongside its 27 members which do, two of which are permanent members of the Security Council
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...

, those being France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

.

Representation

The EU holds an enhanced observer status
United Nations General Assembly observers
In addition to the current 193 member states, the United Nations welcomes many international organizations, entities, and non-member states as observers. Observer status is granted by a United Nations General Assembly resolution...

 at the UN. While normal observers such as the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

 (Vatican City
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...

), the Arab League
Arab League
The Arab League , officially called the League of Arab States , is a regional organisation of Arab states in North and Northeast Africa, and Southwest Asia . It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan , Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a...

 and the Red Cross
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide which was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human...

 do not have speaking rights in the UN General Assembly
United Nations General Assembly
For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...

, the EU was granted those rights on 3 May 2011. These include; the right to speak in debates, to submit proposals and amendments, the right of reply, to raise points of order and to circulate documents. The EU also has extra seats in the chamber alongside the other observers. However the EU does not have voting rights nor the right to sit on the Security Council
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...

.

The EU is represented by the President of the European Council
President of the European Council
The President of the European Council is a principal representative of the European Union on the world stage, and the person presiding over and driving forward the work of the European Council...

, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy is the main co-ordinator and representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy within the European Union...

, the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....

 and the EU delegations. European Council President Herman Van Rompuy
Herman Van Rompuy
Herman Achille Van Rompuy is the first long-term and full-time President of the European Council...

 made the EU's inaugural speech to the general assembly on the 22 September 2011. Prior to the granting of its speaking rights, the EU was represented by the state holding the rotating Council presidency
Presidency of the Council of the European Union
The Presidency of the Council of the European Union is the responsibility for the functioning of the Council of the European Union that rotates between the member states of the European Union every six months. The presidency is not a single president but rather the task is undertaken by a national...

.

The EU is party to some 50 international UN agreements as the only non-state participant. It is a full participant on the Commission on Sustainable Development
Commission on Sustainable Development
The United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development was established in December 1992 by General Assembly Resolution as a functional commission of the UN Economic and Social Council, implementing a recommendation in of Agenda 21, the landmark global agreement reached at the June 1992 United...

, the Forum on Forests
United Nations Forum on Forests
The United Nations Forum on Forests ' is a high-level intergovernmental policy forum, composed of all United Nations Member States.-History:...

 and the Food and Agriculture Organization
Food and Agriculture Organization
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is a specialised agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and...

. It has also been a full participant at certain UN summits, such as the Rio
Earth Summit
The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development , also known as the Rio Summit, Rio Conference, Earth Summit was a major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from 3 June to 14 June 1992.-Overview:...

 and Kyoto summits
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , aimed at fighting global warming...

 on climate change, including hosting a summit. Furthermore, the EU delegation maintains close relations with the UN's aid bodies.

The EU holds its observer membership alongside the full memberships of all its 27 member states
Member State of the European Union
A member state of the European Union is a state that is party to treaties of the European Union and has thereby undertaken the privileges and obligations that EU membership entails. Unlike membership of an international organisation, being an EU member state places a country under binding laws in...

, two of whom (France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

) are permanent veto-holding members of the UN Security Council (UNSC). TEU Article 34 places certain obliges those members to keep the High Representative and fellow states informed and to defend the interest and positions of the EU. Furthermore, where the EU has a defined position on a UNSC agenda item, those states shall request the High Representative to be invited to present the EU's position. This however does not impact on the right of those states to form their foreign policy (stated in Declaration 14).

Head of delegation

Delegation head Nationality Term
Thomas Mayr-Harting
Thomas Mayr-Harting
Thomas Mayr-Harting is an Austrian diplomat. He is the current EU Head of Delegation to the United Nations. Before taking up this appointment he served as Permanent Representative of Austria to the United Nations in New York between December 2008 and October 2011...

Austrian October 2011 to present
Pedro Serrano (acting) Spanish January 2010 to October 2011
Fernando Valenzuela Spanish 2004 to 2009

Coordination

The EU coordinates its voting within the General Assembly's six main committees and other bodies and agencies such as the Economic and Social Council
United Nations Economic and Social Council
The Economic and Social Council of the United Nations constitutes one of the six principal organs of the United Nations and it is responsible for the coordination of the economic, social and related work of 14 UN specialized agencies, its functional commissions and five regional commissions...

, UN agencies (such as the World Health Organisation
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...

 and the International Atomic Energy Agency
International Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957...

). To this end, more than 1000 internal EU coordination meetings are held at the UN to develop a common EU stance. Article 19 of the EU treaty also stipulates that EU members on the Security Council must act in concert and foster the interests of the EU. The EU has also spoken with once voice at all major UN conferences held since the 1990s.

Since the beginning of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy
Common Foreign and Security Policy
The Common Foreign and Security Policy is the organised, agreed foreign policy of the European Union for mainly security and defence diplomacy and actions. CFSP deals only with a specific part of the EU's external relations, which domains include mainly Trade and Commercial Policy and other areas...

, coordinating of EU voting has risen from 86% in 1991/2 to 97% in 1998/9. As of 2007 it has remained around this level, with the 2004 acceding countries
2004 enlargement of the European Union
The 2004 enlargement of the European Union was the largest single expansion of the European Union , both in terms of territory, number of states and population, however not in terms of gross domestic product...

 already voting inline with the EU before they joined. Of the 15-25% of resolutions actually voted on in the General Assembly, the EU votes unanimously on average four fifths of the time, including on controversial topics such as the Middle East (achieving unanimity on nearly every occasion since the 1990s).
EU cohesion in UN General Assembly votes
Year 91-92 92-93 93-94 94-95 95-96 96-97 97-98 98-99 99-00 00-01 01-02 02-03
EU cohesion 86% 91% 91% 92% 93% 96% 96% 97% 95% 96% 96% 97%
Overall UN cohesion 70% 69% 76% 74% 72% 70% 73% 75% 76% 76% 76% 78%


However the in October 2011, a row between the United Kingdom and its fellow EU members reached a head as the UK had blocked more than 70 EU statements to UN committees. The row was over the wording used, that the statements read they were on behalf of the EU, rather than "EU and its member states" as the UK insisted. The UK's actions were intended to stop the perceived drift towards a common EU foreign policy and were insisted upon by British Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...

 David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....

 and Foreign Secretary
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a senior member of Her Majesty's Government heading the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and regarded as one of the Great Offices of State...

 William Hague
William Hague
William Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001...

. While purely symbolic, the issue has become a big deal for both sides, although the UK government has been criticised for using valuble political capital and good will on something that will yield, even if successful, no real gain.

Contribution

The EU and its member states are the UN's largest financial contributors, providing 38.9% of the UN budget in 2007 (followed by the US at 22% and Japan at 16.6%). The EU also provides 55.6% of global development aid
Development aid
Development aid or development cooperation is aid given by governments and other agencies to support the economic, environmental, social and political development of developing countries.It is distinguished...

 (followed by the US at 23.4% and Japan at 11.1%), 40.6% of the funding for UN peacekeeping missions and around half of the budgets for UN funds and programmes. Almost a third of the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....

's aid budget goes to the UN.

The EU provides 40% of the funds for UN peacekeeping and 13.5% of peacekeeping personnel (11,140 men and women) in 2006. It also operates its own missions to support the UN, such as the EU mission in the Congo
EUFOR RD Congo
EUFOR RD Congo was a short European Union deployment in 2006 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. On 25 April 2006, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1671 , authorising the temporary deployment of a European Union force to support the United Nations Mission in the...

 to support the UN peacekeepers there
United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo
The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or MONUSCO , is a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo which was established by the United Nations Security Council in resolutions 1279...

. The EU also established and funds the African Peace Facility.

The EU supports the UN's values of freedom, democracy and human rights. The preamble to the EU's treaty cites the UN Charter's
United Nations Charter
The Charter of the United Nations is the foundational treaty of the international organization called the United Nations. It was signed at the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center in San Francisco, United States, on 26 June 1945, by 50 of the 51 original member countries...

 human rights articles and is very active on the UN Human Rights Council
United Nations Human Rights Council
The United Nations Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations System. The UNHRC is the successor to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights , and is a subsidiary body of the United Nations General Assembly...

. The EU was also instrumental in setting up the system of UN Special Rapporteurs on human rights issues.

History

On 11 October 1974, the UN General Assembly granted observer status to the European Economic Community
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) The European Economic Community (EEC) (also known as the Common Market in the English-speaking world, renamed the European Community (EC) in 1993The information in this article primarily covers the EEC's time as an independent...

 (EEC) represented by the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....

 representation in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. It was the first non-state entity to be granted observer status and gave it participation rights, particularly in the Economic and Social Council: the EEC operated a common commercial policy
Commercial policy
A commercial policy is a governmental policy governing trade with third countries...

 from very early on and in such matters the European Commission represented the EU, in others the Council presidency
Presidency of the Council of the European Union
The Presidency of the Council of the European Union is the responsibility for the functioning of the Council of the European Union that rotates between the member states of the European Union every six months. The presidency is not a single president but rather the task is undertaken by a national...

 did.

Despite being an observer, the EU joined several treaties and gained full participation in a number of UN bodies (see representation above) and in 1991 it was the first non-state body to be a full voting member in a UN agency: the Food and Agriculture Organization. In 2001 it was the first non-state entity to host a summit, the UN Conference of the Least Developed Countries in Brussels, Belgium
Brussels and the European Union
Brussels is considered to be the de facto capital of the European Union, having a long history of hosting the institutions of the European Union within its European Quarter...

.

When the EU was created, the EEC was renamed the European Community and made one of the EU's three pillars. The Community, not the EU as a whole, inherited the EEC's international role and thus between 1993 and 2009 the EU was represented as the European Community at the UN. Since December 2009, with the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the European Union as a whole has taken on the role and obligations the European Community previously exercised. The European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....

 and Council
Council of the European Union
The Council of the European Union is the institution in the legislature of the European Union representing the executives of member states, the other legislative body being the European Parliament. The Council is composed of twenty-seven national ministers...

 delegations to the UN in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 have also been merged.

Following the enactment of the Lisbon Treaty, the EU proposed to the General Assembly that it receive the same representation rights (but not voting rights) as full members. However the General Assembly voted down its initial proposal in 2010 due to a bloc lead by Australia (who abstained in protest at the speed of the proposal and the assumption it would pass) and another lead by CARICOM (demanding the same rights for other regional blocs). After a year of consultations the EU's resolution was passed with an amendment allowing other regional blocs the same rights: "Following the request on behalf of a regional organisation which has observer status in the general assembly and whose member states have agreed arrangements that allow that organisation's representatives to speak on behalf of the organisation and its member states, then the general assembly may adopt modalities for the participation of that regional organisation's representatives."

Future

The EU holds an observer seat on the executive board for funds and programmes, where the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....

 is a big donor and Mark Malloch Brown, former UN deputy secretary general, believes the EU will gradually be represented more and more, starting with the aid departments, eventually leading to the EU taking up a seat on the Security Council.

However the extension of the EU's role at the UN is politically sensitive among EU members such as the United Kingdom who do not want to risk reaching a point where they have to give up their permanent seat on the Security Council. This is alongside fellow EU member Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 demanding its own Security Council seat.

See also

  • France and the United Nations
    France and the United Nations
    The French Republic is a charter member of the United Nations and one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council.-Veto power in the UN Security Council:...

  • Germany and the United Nations
    Germany and the United Nations
    Germany has been a full member of the United Nations since 1973. After the United States and Japan, Germany is the largest contributor to the UN budget .-Observer status and East Germany:...

  • United Kingdom and the United Nations
    United Kingdom and the United Nations
    The United Kingdom is a charter member of the United Nations and one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council.-United Kingdom's role in establishing the UN:...


External links

Official websites

Reports on cooperation

Other documents
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK