European Parliament recommendation to the Council on the EU priorities for the 64th Session of the UN General Assembly
PURPOSE: to present a proposal for a recommendation to the Council on the European Union priorities for the 64th Session of the UN General Assembly.
CONTENT: pursuant to Rule 114(1) of the Rules of Procedure, Alexander Graf LAMBSDORFF (ALDE, DE) proposes a draft recommendation to the Council on behalf of the ALDE Group on the priorities for the 64th Session of the UN General Assembly.
MEPs recall that the EU's foreign policy is based on strong and unequivocal support for effective multilateralism, as embodied in the UN Charter. They stress that the EU is a key political and financial partner of the UN in fighting poverty and promoting economic and social development, providing collective security, including protecting the livelihood of endangered populations, and upholding human rights throughout the world. Moreover, they note that, with regard to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), EU efforts serve as an important catalyst and an example to other donors but will nevertheless, if current trends are not reversed, still fall short, by EUR 75 billion, of the EU's official development aid commitments by 2010.
MEPs make the following recommendations to the Council:
· the EU's political priorities for the next UN General Assembly session should be the subject of an in-depth, wide-ranging debate between Parliament, the Council and the Commission;
· the Council's formal position on the priorities for the UN General Assembly should be regarded by the Permanent Representations of EU Member States in New York as a binding political platform to be used in negotiations with other countries;
· the Council and the Commission should study in depth the implications which the Treaty of Lisbon has for the EU's future representation at the UN, and that the EU Member States commit themselves clearly and unequivocally to ensuring that the EU enjoys adequate visibility and authority within the UN bodies and fora.
· the Member states should remain engaged in the preparations for the 2009 Durban Review Conference and ensure that the Conference provides the opportunity for all stakeholders to renew their determination and commitment to fight racism, racial and caste discrimination, xenophobia and all other forms of intolerance. They should alsoadopt concrete benchmarks with a view to the eradication of racism, on the basis of, and fully respecting, the Durban Declaration and the Programme of Action.