The European Parliament ,

–   having regard to the follow-up to the report of the Secretary-General of the United Nations "We the Peoples: the role of the UN in the 21st century"; to the Millennium Declaration of 2000 and to the UN communication "A Vision of Partnership: the United Nations and the European Union" and the UN Secretary-General's reports on the implementation of the Millennium Declaration of 31 July 2002, and of 2 September 2003(1) ,

–   having regard to the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly's Recommendations on the United Nations at the turn of the century(2) , on the relations with the United Nations(3) and on the reform of the United Nations(4) ,

–   having regard to the guidelines adopted at the Göteborg European Council, of 15-16 June 2001, on EU/UN cooperation and the agreements reached at the EU General Affairs Council of 11-12 June 2001, and the External Relations Council of 21-22 July 2003,

–   having regard to the EU Council commitment to reinforce the role of the European Union in international organisations and in particular the UN(5) ,

–   having regard to its resolution of 16 May 2002 on the European Union/United Nations partnership (development and humanitarian affairs)(6) ,

–   having regard to the Presidency Conclusions of the Thessaloniki European Council of 20-21 June 2003 and the reports presented on Conflict Prevention, the Fight against Terrorism, and A Secure Europe in a better World,

–   having regard to the Commission's Communication to the European Parliament and the Council "The European Union and the United Nations: the choice of multilateralism" (COM(2003) 526),

–   having regard to Rule 163 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy (A5-0480/2003),

A.   whereas the harmonious development of humankind can only be accomplished within a system of global governance capable of promoting a peaceful, prosperous and just world, where efficient multilateral systems of governance such as the United Nations play a vital and central role, and well-functioning international institutions ensure that the international order is based on the rule of law and is duly respected by all nations in a non-selective way; expressing, therefore, its support for multilateralism as the tool for solving the problems and threats faced by the international community,

B.   aware of the importance of a credible multilateral international system based on efficient decision and enforcement processes, respectful of the universal principles of democracy and the rule of law and promoting sustainable and harmonious development,

C.   recalling that the European Union is not an international organisation but a Union with a Common Foreign and Security Policy, which from spring 2004 will have a total of 25 Member States; and recalling that it should, as a Union, develop its current relations with the United Nations Organisation on the basis of a stronger political strategy,

D.   noting that this strategy should benefit from the experience accumulated within the framework of its contribution to the UN's activity, in particular in the areas of development, humanitarian affairs, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict reconstruction and institution building,

E.   whereas reinforced cooperation between the European Union and the United Nations and better coordination of the EU institutions and its Member States will lead to more efficient responses to the major threats that the international community faces today, and in particular to international terrorism, the persistence of declining states, the deterioration of the social situation and poverty in the world, an increase in international networks of organised crime, trafficking in human beings, arms and drugs, and the proliferation of non-conventional weapons,

F.   convinced that fixing a Common Security Agenda between the UN and the EU will help increase the efficiency of the multilateral system and should reflect a global consensus on the major threats to peace and security,

G.   noting the vital role of a proactive strategy for the European Union in the resolution of international questions and conflicts on a multilateral basis; convinced, therefore, of the importance of a reinforced EU with a legal personality and a Minister for Foreign Affairs, to change the current form of the relations of the EU and its Member States with the UN,

H.   noting that the EU's current ability to project European values does not correspond to its political and economic weight in the international community, nor to the financial contributions to the UN system from the European Union's budget, those of its 15 Member States and the 10 future Member States,

I.   aware of the positive contribution that EU enlargement will bring to improving negotiating and conciliating abilities within the UN system, as the EU will include countries participating in different UN regional groups, which will facilitate the building of the political and economic bridges needed in a multilateral system of global governance,

J.   noting that the success of any multilateral system based on the respect of the rule of law will depend on its ability to enforce the decisions made,

K.   convinced of the importance of clarifying and reinforcing the role of the UN and its institutions in the world security system, in particular in response to crises and in preventing or reacting to massive and systematic violations of human rights,

L.   noting, in this regard, that achieving the institutional reforms launched through the UN Millennium Declaration on the structure, composition and decision-making process of the Security Council, as well as the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and other UN bodies, are prerequisites for a more efficient United Nations,

M.   aware of the UN Secretary General's commitment to forge partnerships and alliances that contribute to the solution of a broad range of contemporary international problems for which governments alone do not have the capacity to find solutions,

N.   whereas effective cooperation between the European Union and the United Nations is a cornerstone of EU foreign policy which is particularly important in view of the institutional and political crisis besetting the United Nations,

Enhancing the EU's role in a reinforced UN

1.  Welcomes the communication from the Commission, which contributes to clarifying the current state of cooperation between the executive institution of the European Union and the UN; notes with regret, however, that the Commission did not wish to make any recommendation regarding the development of the cooperation between the UN and the European Parliament (one of the political authorities of the Union and the Budgetary Authority in this sector), in spite of doing so for areas which are of competence to the European Union Council and its Member States;

2.  Reaffirms that multilateralism remains the best way to identify and meet threats and achieve global peace and security; urges, therefore, continuous support for the creation and implementation of multilateral instruments by the EU within the framework of the United Nations, for instance through the presentation of practical proposals regarding treaty compliance as regards weapons of mass destruction and the related role of the UN Security Council;

3.  Considers that, in a world torn apart by conflicts, underdevelopment and inequalities, the European Union is a beacon, showing that peoples which have undergone major crises and fratricidal wars can come together, by force of conviction, to take the path of peace, prosperity and democracy, by developing a model which combines economic growth with cohesion and social rights, and believes that this historic example offers a stimulus to other regional integration processes around the world;

4.  Considers that the elaboration of the common foreign and security policy towards the UN should be characterised by the participation and joint influence of all the European Union's Member States;

5.  Points out that the EU and its Member States account for over 50% of the contributions to the United Nations and the peacekeeping troops and over 60% of international development aid and should thus play a key role in determining the future shape of the United Nations;

6.  Is of the opinion that the EU Constitution will have a positive impact on the improvement of relations between the EU and the UN; believes it will also reinforce the effectiveness of the EU's action within the UN, contributing, therefore, to give a boost to the UN in its central role to stand for and implement 'effective multilateralism' in global governance, global security, and global respect of human rights; further considers that the EU should play a more active role in the reform of the UN's internal structure;

7.  Considers that this will be possible, not only because of the recognition of the international legal personality of the EU, but also the political undertaking on the part of the EU to play the important role incumbent on it in the field of foreign policy, as reflected in the expected clarification of the political and/or executive competence of each EU institution in international relations, the creation of an EU Minister for Foreign Affairs and the expected reinforcement of the competence of the EU in the areas of security and defence policy;

8.  Believes that a more effective commitment is needed in the context of the EU/UN partnership in order to maintain international peace and security in accordance with Article 1 of the United Nations Charter;

9.  Notes that the success of global governance, in the face of the challenges posed by growing globalisation and interdependence, can only be based on an effective and fair multilateral system unequivocally anchored in the United Nations, and will depend on:

10.  Notes the report of the UN Working Group on Security Council reform(7) of 20 June 2003 and its recommendations, as well as the UN Secretary General's reports to the 57th and 58th General Assemblies on the implementation of the Millennium Declaration; expresses its interest in actively contributing to the high-level Panel appointed by the UN Secretary-General to examine the challenges to peace and security, to consider the contribution that collective action can make in addressing these challenges, review the functioning of the major organs of the UN and the relationship between them, and recommend ways of strengthening the United Nations through reform of institutions and processes(8) ;

11.  Strongly supports the initiative of the UN Secretary-General to appoint a Panel of eminent persons to assist the international community, the United Nations Member States and international organisations to achieve the Millennium Development Goals relating to water and sanitation. Expresses its willingness to actively participate and give political and financial support to this initiative.

12.  Urges EU Member States to reach, with utmost urgency, agreement on the institutional reform of the UN system, in the light of the upcoming EU personality, and of the following principles:

13.  Calls on the Council to reflect on the possibility to propose the participation of the European Union as a full member in the Security Council and the General Assembly of the UN;

14.  Considers that the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the European Union, whose functions are laid down in the Draft European Constitution, should occupy the seat proposed in the previous paragraph for the EU;

15.  Confirms that the UN Charter constitutes the key political and legal basis for developing international relations and ensuring peace and international security; recognises that international law and the UN system must be further developed; emphasises that the most important tasks are to enforce international law and human rights, to overcome poverty and under-development and to achieve effective multilateralism; stresses that the enlarged European Union of 25 Member States will bear special responsibility for shaping this process of reform; recognises that the objective of UN institutional reform is an element in this process;

16.  Welcomes the increased coherence from the UN in its relations with the EU, already achieved within the framework of the ongoing UN administrative reform and also expressed by the appointment of a UN representative to the EU with a strategic global mandate;

17.  Welcomes the UN's annual programme impact review(10) and the decision to open a UN Regional Information Centre for Western Europe in Brussels, from the beginning of 2004; notes that this Centre will focus its activities on providing information for citizens of the EU Member States and other European countries; invites it to include in its annual activity programme information actions on the relations between the EU and the UN; invites the EU Commission to launch, if possible jointly with this Centre, an information initiative on the relations between the EU and the UN, including on the EU's financial contribution to the activities of the UN, its Agencies, Programmes and Funds; also encourages the UN Regional Centre to develop its activities in close cooperation with the UN Associations and educational institutions, which are vital structures of civil society to bring to citizens the common values of the EU and the UN;

18.  Invites the Belgian authorities to do their utmost to provide the new UN Representation to the EU and the UN Regional Information Centre with the appropriate statute and offices;

19.  Stresses that enhancing the EU's role within the UN will demand:

20.  Looks to the EU actively to participate in reforming and further developing the UN; takes the view that, in the event of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity within the meaning of Articles 6, 7 and 8 of the Statute of the International Criminal Court, it must be possible for the United Nations to be authorised to intervene rapidly; considers in this connection that the possibility must be created of circumventing the veto of a permanent member of the Security Council should an independent body endowed with legitimacy under international law (for instance, the International Court of Justice or the International Criminal Court) establish that there is an imminent danger of the above-mentioned crimes being committed;

21.  Insists that in order to obtain greater support for the UN among citizens there is a need to improve respect for its work in favour of fundamental human rights; considers that a system for evaluating individual Member States" infringements of established fundamental human rights and freedoms should, therefore, be devised, accompanied by the possibility for political regimes which commit serious and regular breaches of these rights over a long period to be deprived of their right to vote in the UN Human Rights Commission, until such breaches cease;

Reinforcing cooperation between the EU institutions and the UN system

22.  Welcomes the implementation by the UN Secretary-General of the strategy to reinforce cooperation with regional organisations and to enhance coordination between the UN's actions and its major partners such as the European Union, in particular on disarmament, arms exports control, conflict prevention, the civil and military aspects of crisis management, humanitarian relief, development, protection of human rights, social rights and the rights of indigenous peoples, environmental protection, as well as counter-terrorism and the fight against organised crime, in particular trafficking in human beings, drugs, arms smuggling, and money laundering;

23.  Considers that this approach and the development of political dialogue with the European Parliament, as mentioned in paragraph 39, are the starting points for a joint building-block strategy aimed at reinforcing multilateral systems on the basis of the principle of cooperation, constructive dialogue and compromise, seeking to resolve differences amongst EU Member States wherever possible, and rejecting multi-polar or rigid confrontational approaches at international level;

24.  Notes the urgent need to develop reinforced cooperation and coordination in the sector of public health, in particular in the areas of research and preventive action, where severe and readily transmissible diseases with epidemiological impact pose one of the most relevant new threats to global security;

25.  Reiterates its call for a worldwide ban on the cloning of humans, and supports Costa Rica's initiative in this connection and the UN General Assembly's decision to work on a corresponding convention in 2004;

26.  Requests that, as part of the efforts to implement effectively UN Security Council Resolution 1373, including the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism of 9 December 1999, the European Union should promote the application of the eight special recommendations on the financing of terrorism of 31 October 2001 by the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF), as well as the 40 FATF recommendations on combating money laundering of 20 June 2003;

27.  Calls on the EU institutions to support the setting up of an intergroup of the democratic countries within the UN system (the Community of Democracies); invites them and the EU Member States to promote the participation in this intergroup, and assist the NGOs in their efforts in favour of this objective, in particular those aiming at mobilising civil society;

28.  Emphasises the need for a proper balance between the objectives of supporting effective multi-agency working and ensuring a genuine European value-added in international actions; welcomes, therefore, the Framework Agreement signed on 29 April 2003 between the UN and the EU Commission on the financial and administrative aspects of the cooperation between the UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes and the Commission, as well as the memoranda of understanding and other forms of agreement reached between 2000 and 2002 through exchanges of letters of 6 July and 14 December 2000, and 14 May 2001, between the UN agencies and the Commission;

29.  Notes with satisfaction that this Framework Agreement is also an attempt to respond to the European Parliament's and the Court of Auditors' requests for the Commission to adjust the cooperation schemes with the UN to the EU's financial and administrative rules, but regrets that the European Parliament, or its competent committees, have not been duly consulted and informed on its preparation;

30.  Encourages the Commission, within the framework of its executive competence, to make a further step towards reinforcing cooperation and coordination, as proposed by the UN in its communication "A Vision for Partnership"(11) , in particular by:

31.  Encourages also the Council to reach, in the light of its decision of 21 July 2003(12) and the Joint Declaration of the EU Italian Presidency and the UN Secretary-General of 24 September 2003(13) , an agreement with the UN on conflict prevention and crisis management, reflecting the following principles:

32.  Is of the opinion that the Joint Declaration of the EU Italian Presidency and the UN Secretary-General of 24 September should be implemented on the basis of a consistent UN strategy on conflict prevention and crisis management, differentiating short-term operational measures and long-term structural measures addressing the causes of conflicts; calls, therefore, the Council and the EU Member States to take into account in the implementation of this Joint Declaration the conclusions and recommendations adopted by the 57th UN General Assembly(14) on conflict prevention, and actively work on their implementation;

33.  Insists that the EU Presidency inform the EP, in due time, of the measures being undertaken for the presentation to the UN's bodies or agencies of any EU position or any proposal (e.g. the EU Priorities Paper to the annual session of the General Assembly, proposals for resolutions to be presented on behalf of the EU to the Security Council or to the annual session of the ECOSOC, in particular the Commission on Human Rights); and to inform the EP's competent committees on the UN's proposals on cooperation in the area of crisis management (e.g. cooperation in Congo, Liberia), conflict prevention, post-conflict management, development and humanitarian aid and all other areas of political dialogue and cooperation in the field of planning;

34.  Invites the Council and its Member States to enhance, in the light of article 19 of the EU Treaty, not only mutual information but also internal coordination both in Brussels and at the UN, on the issues to be dealt with in the UN's bodies; for this purpose proposes that the role of the Council Working Groups and parties in Brussels (e.g. CONUN or working group for the preparation of UN conferences) is reinforced and include the preparation of EU common positions or mandates and guidelines, before any decision is taken in the UN's political bodies (Security Council, General Assembly and ECOSOC);

35.  Notes, also in this regard, the urgent need to improve the current system of exchange of information and coordination among the representatives of the EU's Member States at the UN, ensuring in particular permanent coordination among the EU members sitting in the UN Security Council and the EU Presidency; considers that this improvement will avoid any contradiction between the common positions or political guidelines adopted by the European Union and the positions expressed in the UN's organs by any EU Member State;

36.  Considers that the clarification of the relations between the EU Council and its Member States represented in the UN Security Council could be dealt with within the framework of a code of conduct to be adopted under Article 19 of the Treaty of the Union, reinforcing the guidelines already adopted, and underlining that whenever an EU statement is presented on behalf of the European Union or the European Community, EU Member States should refrain from making their national statements, which should only be envisaged on an exceptional basis and justified in advance to the EU Presidency;

37.  Proposes that the Council and the Commission organise, on a regular basis, joint meetings between representatives of the EU Presidency, the Secretariats of the Council, the Commission and the European Parliament with representatives of the UN, to coordinate and wherever possible to do joint country assessments in terms of conflict prevention, the functioning of an "early warning system" and implementation of the crisis management mechanisms available in the EU and the UN;

38.  Is of the opinion that, in the light of the forthcoming EU Constitution, streamlining the EU's diplomatic representation to the UN is of the utmost importance for improving relations between them; encourages, therefore, the Council and the Commission to reach, as soon as possible, an agreement on a common external delegation in each one of the following UN headquarters (New York, Geneva, Vienna and Nairobi);

39.  Invites the UN Secretary-General and the UN's political bodies, its Agencies, Funds and Programmes, to extend the current practices of dialogue, cooperation and coordination with the EU Council and Commission to the European Parliament, by:

40.  Is of the opinion that reinforcing political dialogue and cooperation with the European Parliament (the Parliament of a Union of 25 States and representing around 450 million people from 2004 on), will contribute to the success of the efforts of the UN Secretary-General to develop, in close cooperation with the International Parliamentary Union, a parliamentary dimension of the UN; it will also reinforce the democratic dimension to the UN, promoting its rapprochement to the citizens of one of the most relevant regions of the world and a major partner in the resolution of the challenges and threats that the world faces today;

41.  Instructs its competent committee to ensure consistent and systematic cooperation with the UN, its Agencies, Funds and Programmes, within the framework of the implementation and follow-up of this resolution;

o
o   o

42.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the EU Council and Commission, the Secretary-General of the UN, the President of the UN Security Council, the President of the UN General Assembly, the President of the UN ECOSOC, as well as to the National Parliaments of the EU, the Inter Parliamentary Union and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

(1) UN SG Report to the 57th session of the UN General Assembly A/57/270, 31 July 2002 and UNSG Report to the 58th session of the UN General Assembly A/58/323, 2 September 2003 both on the Implementation of the UN Millennium Declaration. (2) CoE PA recommendation 1476 (2000) (3) CoE PA recommendation 1411 (1999) (4) CoE PA recommendation 1967 (1998) (5) EU General Affairs Council of 18-19 February 2002. (6) OJ C 180 E, 31.7.2003, p. 538. (7) Report of the Open-Ended Working Group, on the Question of Equitable Representation and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council and other matters related to the Security Council of 20 June 2003 (57th UN General Assembly, supplement 47 - A/57/47). (8) UN Secretary-General's address to the UN General Assembly of 23 September 2003 and decision of the UN Secretary-General announced on 4 November 2003 appointing the members of the Panel and confirming the terms of its mandate. (9) Can take the floor if requested, reply and co-sponsor resolutions. (10) UNSG report to the 58th General Assembly "Strengthening of the UN system - Questions relating to information". (11) A Vision for Partnership: the United Nations and the European Union. (12) Conclusions of the Presidency of EU Council for External Relations of 21 July 2003. (13) Joint Declaration adopted at the ministerial Troika meeting during the 58th UN General Assembly on 24 September 2003. (14) UN res. A/RES/57/337 (15) UN Secretary-General's address to the UN General Assembly of 23 September 2003 and decision of the UN Secretary-General announced on 4 November 2003 appointing the members of the Panel and confirming the terms of its mandate.