Relations between the EU and the United Nations have over time developed into a strong network of co-operation and interaction. The main areas in which the UN is active today – such as promoting international peace and security, promoting respect for human rights, protecting the environment, fighting disease, fostering development and reducing poverty – are also priorities for the European Union.
Strengthening co-operation between the EU and the UN is thus an important priorty. This was underlined by the Göteborg European Council of June 2001 and as was reinforced more recently by the European Council of 2003 as well as in the context of the EU preparations to the UN Summit in December 2005.
The European Network of UNA's aim to encourage the European Commissions commitment to working closely with the United Nations across a wide range of policy areas – from conflict prevention and human rights to environmental protection and development, from trade policy to social policy.
Current co-operation in these areas between the EU and UN takes the form both of EC financial support for UN programmes and projects and of policy dialogue and participation by the Commission in various UN forums and the EC has taken part as full participant in many major UN Conferences. In virtue of its legal competences, the European Community is also a party to over 50 UN multilateral agreements.
The Commission has delegations at all major UN sites, such as New York, Geneva, Vienna, Rome, Paris and Nairobi and has had permanent observer status at the UN since 1974. Since the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy was established in 1992, EU Member States have moved increasingly towards the coordination of their actions in international organizations. In the UN, the Member States, together with the Commission, now regularly coordinate their positions, and the EU thus almost always speaks with one voice in the UN General Assembly.
For links to websites and documents with more information on EU-UN relations click here
