A/65/PV.98 General Assembly

I now give the floor to the observer of the European Union.

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union (EU) and its member States. The candidate countries Turkey, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Montenegro; the countries of the Stabilization and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia; as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Armenia and Georgia align themselves with this statement. Mr. President, I would first like to thank you for having organized today’s timely debate. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are and will remain for another four years the reference framework for the international community’s efforts to eradicate poverty. This dialogue reminds us of the fundamental importance of the MDGs and the need to maintain the momentum generated by the September 2010 High- level Plenary Meeting. Since then, the United Nations successfully held another major development event: the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries. The Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2011-2020, adopted on that occasion (A/CONF.219/3), complements the MDG outcome document (resolution 65/1). The MDGs remain at the heart of our development efforts. The EU will continue to fully respect and promote the fundamental principles of the ownership and leadership of developing countries, including through the mobilization of domestic resources, and the promotion and respect of good governance, democracy, gender equality and human rights. The EU would also like to reiterate the importance of policy coherence for development. The EU will continue to prioritize the MDGs that are most off-track in the regions and countries most lagging behind, especially sub-Saharan Africa, least developed countries (LDCs) and countries in situations of conflict and fragility. The EU demonstrated its commitment to the MDGs on the occasion of the High-level Plenary Meeting with the launch of a €1 billion MDG initiative aimed at supporting the efforts of the most committed countries from Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. The EU is actively working towards its collective official development assistance (ODA) target of 0.7 per cent of gross national income by 2015, to channel at least 50 per cent of its collective aid increases to Africa, and to collectively meet the target of 0.15 to 0.20 per cent of gross national income to LDCs. Despite the global financial and economic crisis, EU ODA reached an historic high in 2010 of €53.8 billion, representing 0.43 per cent of the gross national income of EU member States. The EU believes that resources can also be raised through innovative sources of financing and the involvement of the private sector. We therefore stress the need to scale up present initiatives in this respect. The principles of aid effectiveness, as defined in Paris and Accra, remain a top priority for the EU. These principles should also increasingly apply to cooperation among developing countries, as well as to the United Nations system itself. Looking ahead at the post-2015 United Nations development framework, there is merit in starting the reflection now. At this early stage, the EU will limit itself to raising five points. First, any future development framework will have to build on the lessons learned from the MDGs, including both successes and shortcomings. In particular, the MDGs have demonstrated the unifying power of a high-profile, clear and measurable United Nations framework for development. The MDGs have raised global attention among decision-makers and the wider public to development issues, thus resulting in the greater mobilization of efforts. Secondly, any future development framework will have to devote greater attention to economic growth. In this regard, any new objectives or indicators should properly reflect the concept of sustained, inclusive and equitable growth and sustainable development. Thirdly, the post-2015 development framework will have to reflect changes in the world landscape, notably in relation to emerging economies. As the respective economic weight of countries evolves, new responsibilities emerge that have to be fully assumed. Fourthly, policy coherence needs to be pursued even more forcefully with a view to integrating all elements and initiatives that can contribute to the realization of sustainable development, including in the context of the preparation of the 2012 Rio Conference. Fifthly, we have to ensure the coherence between the post-2015 development framework and the Istanbul Programme of Action for LDCs. The mid-term review of the Istanbul Programme of Action will play a key role in this respect. The EU looks forward to actively contributing to this discussion on the post-2015 framework.

We have heard the last speaker for this specific meeting focused on development. I would be grateful if the Assembly could give me another of couple of minutes for some concluding remarks. I believe that our discussions and interactions have been very good. Of course, I do not intend now to make a comprehensive summary of all the important points that have been mentioned today. Participants will be able to read a comprehensive summary of the meeting when it is posted on the President’s website. I would nevertheless like to highlight a few points. I would start by saying what our aims were for this meeting. In line with resolution 60/265, we sought to assess the progress of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) from the previous year. We focused this morning in particular on MDGs 4 and 5 and the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health. This focus was due to the fact that not only are MDGs 4 and 5 those most lagging behind, but also that, over the previous year, there have been renewed efforts to make progress and women’s and children’s health. From this morning’s meeting, I would like to mention at least four of my main ideas. First, in looking at the Secretary-General’s Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health, I think that we can say that we have the proof that where there is leadership there will also be action and, we hope, success. Additionally, we can say that what gets measured gets done. I think therefore that the Commission on Information and Accountability is an important part of the whole designed to provide greater effectiveness of the overall framework of the Millennium Development Goals. Secondly, improvement in health is about societal change and adopting a comprehensive approach, which on the one hand deals with very simple and basic issues, such as maternal health and child care, while on the other it remains one of the big challenges of humanity. Thirdly, we have seen that partnership and collaboration between all stakeholders are crucial. It is interesting to highlight the role of the private sector. Companies competing with each other in markets are also collaborating and cooperating closely when it comes to supporting developing countries in achieving the Millennium Development Goals and dealing with other issues. Fourthly, I think that we have seen some examples that show that innovative solutions must be explored. That could be true for the examples of the impact that mobile phones can have or of certain tests or methods adopted in Zanzibar to fight against malaria. At this afternoon’s meeting, I think we had an interesting session on advancing the United Nations development agenda beyond 2015. One important highlight of the afternoon’s discussion is that, while recognizing that our focus for the next five years should be on the 2015 targets, it is important at the same time to begin thinking about a development framework beyond 2015. It was important to hear from experts that it is not too soon to talk about this issue and that it must not become simply an additional layer placed on top of the MDG activities, but should include a transformation in the quality of future activities and that this issue clearly needs consultation, discussion and preparations. I am also satisfied that we have heard from several Member States and delegations that they feel the same way about this. Another aspect that was discussed, in particular by Mr. Manning as well as the two other panellists, is that the MDGs are said to be very easy to understand and very effective because they can be measured through simple indicators. But the danger is that those measurements are focused on quantitative dimensions. The panellists also emphasized the fact that qualitative improvements will be necessary in order to progress. A formula can be used to measure outcomes, relating not only to school attendance rates or other educational factors, but to most of the indicators. We probably will also have to look for better ways to measure the effectiveness of all the efforts — not only the money, but all of the work put into development activities. Finally, it is about quality and not only about quantity. It will be about ways to go beyond simple, basic, physical needs. If we want a decent life with dignity — as noted in several interventions — we must direct our efforts beyond people’s basic needs, and development must achieve what some would call a decent life. I would say that living a decent life is not only to have the ability to satisfy the basic physical needs of survival, but also to be a member of society and to have access to what I would call the goods of civilization. Finally, the sustainability dimension has been addressed. I agree with the representative of the Netherlands. As an economist, I am always thinking about how the MDG programme works without fundamental economic theory behind it. I think that if we want the whole exercise to become sustainable — and not merely to address the three dimensions of sustainability — then reducing the number of people living in poverty must be sustainable. And it will be sustainable if, by their own efforts and capacities, they have the means to provide for their basic needs and their needs in general. This will be a sustainable way to emerge from poverty. Then the focus must be on jobs, investment and other dimensions that are not included fully within the Millennium Development Goals. I will conclude by saying that it is important that the goals to be set be realistic and achievable. But we need some ambition. At the very least, we must be a little ambitious, and our ambitions may sometimes have to go a bit beyond what is seemingly achievable at the beginning. These are my conclusions for today. As I said, more exhaustive conclusions will be posted later on the website. I would like to thank all of the contributors, in particular the panellists, for their valuable insights they have shared with us.