EU Member States' Foreign Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening rules-based multilateralism focused on the United Nations on Monday 17 June in Luxembourg.
“The current times of global uncertainty and challenges to multilateralism and the rules-based international order call for proactive, robust and responsible leadership from the EU on the multilateral scene”, Ministers explained in their conclusions.
The EU Council therefore is highlighting 17 actions that the EU and Member States should take in order to ensure compliance with international standards and agreements, to extend multilateralism to new global realities by “taking advantage of the EU's normative capacity, autonomy and influence”, in particular in the digital and environmental areas, and to reform multilateral organisations to make them fit for purpose in a changing world.
Among the actions, the EU and Member States propose to strengthen the EU's role as guarantor of international security through conflict prevention, mediation, peacekeeping and crisis management using civilian and military means. The strengthening of the international arms control, non-proliferation and disarmament architecture, the application of international law in cyberspace and the strengthening of close European cooperation within the UN Security Council and on issues related to the Security Council are also highlighted.
“Bringing together their experience, funding and resources, the EU and its Member States will work closely together and burden-share, demonstrating unity and solidarity to project the EU's global presence and translate this agenda for multilateralism into action”, the EU Council asserted. It also stressed the need to further strengthen internal cooperation and cohesion within the EU and the need for the EU to speak with one voice.
The EU Council will review progress in 2020, “with a view to developing further concrete proposals, as necessary”.
See the conclusions: https://bit.ly/2ZsblvP (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)