A high-level delegation of the European Commission will attend the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) next week in New York. The focus of EU engagement will be to tackle the unprecedented set of conflicts and crises across the world.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell, Vice-President Dubravka Šuica, and Commissioners Stella Kyriakides, Didier Reynders, Ylva Johansson, Janez Lenarčič, Jutta Urpilainen, Kadri Simson and Wopke Hoekstra will host or participate in events and meetings with leaders and counterparts from around the world.

The EU and its Member States are coming to the 79th UNGA session determined to promote multilateral solutions based on the UN Charter and to make them work for the good of all. This year marks a pivotal reflection point for the UN. As UN Secretary General António Guterres said in April, “We cannot solve 21st century problems with 20th century tools.” The headline event, the ‘Summit of the Future,’ which has been under preparation for four years, represents a key opportunity to collectively reflect on how the UN should be fit for purpose and fit for the future.

On Friday and Saturday, 20 and 21 September, Vice-President Dubravka Šuica will co-host and participate in a number of high-level events during the Summit of the Future’s Action Days on empowering youth and building resilience, sustainable development, intergenerational fairness and demography, and on accelerating the Spotlight Initiative’s high-impact effort to end violence against women and girls.

On 21 September, Executive Vice-President Vestager will speak at a high-level roundtable on ‘Laying the Foundations for a Digital Future for All’ and discuss the Global Digital Compact to be agreed at the Summit and its outlining principles and actions to support an open, free and secure digital future for all that upholds human rights and overcomes digital divides.

On Sunday, 22 September, High Representative/Vice-President Borrell and Commissioner Urpilainen, together with President of the European Council Charles Michel, will represent the EU in a trilateral meeting with the African Union and the United Nations and hold bilateral talks with the UN Secretary General Guterres. Commissioner Urpilainen will attend the interactive dialogue of the Summit of the Future ‘Transforming global governance and turbocharging the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development’.

On Tuesday 24 September, President von der Leyen and High Representative/Vice-President Borrell, together with President Michel, will attend the opening session of the General Debate of the 79th UN General Assembly. High Representative Borrell will address the UN Security Council during the High-level meeting on Ukraine. Commissioner Urpilainen will open the ‘The Do’s and Dont’s of Sustainable Supply Chains’ Panel at the Leaders’ Summit of the UN Global Compact.

On Wednesday 25 September, High Representative/Vice-President Borrell will represent the EU at the G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting, hosted by the G20 Brazilian Presidency. Commissioner Hoekstra will deliver a speech on behalf of the EU at the High-level meeting on sea-level rise.

On Thursday, 26 September, President Michel will deliver a speech on behalf of the EU at the General Debate. Commissioner Kyriakides will deliver a speech on behalf of the EU at the High-level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).

EU Flagship events during the week
The EU will host or co-host several flagship events in the margins of the UN General Assembly:

On Monday, Vice-President Šuica will co-host the EU-AU-UNICEF High-Level event ‘Proven solutions for children: accelerating progress for the SDGs and beyond’, to prioritise, finance, and implement concrete, cost-effective, and evidence-backed policy solutions for every child. Commissioner Johansson will host the High-level side event ‘Leading the way forward: managing migration globally’, bringing together leading global voices on migration and forced displacement and co-sponsored by UNHCR, IOM and UNODC. Commissioner Urpilainen will chair the Global Education Forum, where she will sign a Declaration on School meal Coalition with the World Food Programme.

On Tuesday, President von der Leyen will co-host the leader-level event ‘Innovating for a Sustainable Future: Working together on industrial growth and decarbonization’, together with Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, highlighting the vital role carbon pricing can play in decarbonising industry. Commissioner Urpilainen will speak in the side event ‘Three Years On – Supporting Afghan Women’s Rights’, co-organised with UN Women.

On Wednesday, High Representative Borrell will co-host a Ministerial meeting on Sudan ‘United for Peace in Sudan’, together with Germany and France. Commissioner Lenarčič will co-host a High-level event on restoring the centrality of International Humanitarian Law in today’s armed conflicts, together with Belgium. He will also co-host a high-level event on Sudan entitled ‘1.5 year into the conflict – how to prevent Sudan from becoming a forgotten crisis?’, together with UN OCHA, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the US.

On Thursday, High Representative Borrell will co-chair an informal meeting with the EU and CELAC Foreign Ministers. In the afternoon, he will co-chair a Ministerial side event on the Middle East Peace Process (MEPP), together with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the League of Arab States, Egypt and Jordan.

On Friday, High Representative Borrell will co-chair the 14th Global Counterterrorism Forum Ministerial Plenary Meeting, together with Egypt.

Source: Europen Commission

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