Brussels, 24/01/2007 (Agence Europe) - Speaking on Wednesday in Brussels, the new secretary-general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon of South Korea, welcomed the “privileged partnership” that exists between the United Nations and the EU. He told the press after a meeting with EU High Representative for the CFSP Javier Solana: “We also want to work closely with European Union leaders in future. We have a privileged partnership and we appreciate the EU's participation in United Nations activities”. Solana explained that his meeting with Mr Ban (whom he had already met on 9 January this year) had covered the situation in the Balkans (and in Kosovo in particular), the Middle East peace process and the crises in Somalia and Darfur. On all these subjects, “we think along the same lines”, said Ban Ki-moon during his first international visit at his new post. The EU is a great supporter of multilateralism and “we believe in the United Nations”, Solana stressed. He also announced that he would be at a meeting in Paris on Thursday with the UN mediator for Kosovo, Marti Ahtisaari, as well as with the American and Russian foreign minsters, Condoleezza Rice and Sergei Lavrov.
Ban Ki-moon also met the president of the Commission, José Manuel Barroso. During a press conference, the head of the UN underlined the major financial contribution made by the EU towards the working of the organisation. “The Commission provides over one billion euro annually for the UN”, without counting member state contributions, Barroso said. He also announced that, at the international conference on Lebanon in Paris on Thursday (see related article), the Commission would announce further aid for rebuilding the country that would bring its total contribution since the beginning of the conflict to €500 million. (hb)