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GeneralAssembly Sixtieth Session UNITEDNATIONS Informal consultationsof the plenary on the repoft of the Secretary-General entitled "Mandatingand delivering: analysisand recommendations facilitatethe to (4/6O/733 and 4160/733/Corr.I) review of mandates"
F i n l a n s E UP r e s i d e n c y d

S ta te me nton behalfof the Eur opean Union H.E. Mr . Jar mo Sar eva Ambassador Deputy PermanentRepresentative Finlandto the United Nations of New Yor k, 13 July 2006

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Mr. Co-chair, I h a v e t h e h o n o u rto sp e a k o n behalfof the Eur opean union. The AccedingCountriesBulgariaand Romania,the CandidateCountriesCroatia and the Former YugoslavRepublicof Macedonia, the Countriesof the Stabilisation and AssociationProcess and potential candidatesSerbia, Bosniaand Herzegovina and Albania,the EFTAcountry Icefand, member of the EuropeanEconomic Area, a s w e l l a s U kra i n ea n d th e R e public M oldovaalign them selveswith this of d e c l a r a ti o n . First and foremost, I would like to thank the Co-chairsAmb. Akram and Amb. Rockfor the efforts they have investedduring the recent months in guiding the work on Mandate Reviewand we welcometheir interim report as an effort to take the processforward. The EuropeanUnion wishes to congratulateAmb. cooney on his recent a p p o i n t me n ta n d th a n k h i m for engagingin this - not alwayseasy - pr ocess . e W a s s u r eAmb . A kra m a n d A mb . Cooneyour full suppor tand continuedcoope r ati on. L e t m e b ri e fl y re ca l lth e E U 'sv isionof MandateReviewand the way ahead. M r . C o - c h a i r, For the EU, the MandateReview is an essentialelement of the Reform process, which would make the United Nationsmore efficient,more effectiveand more accountable the benefit of all member states. In this regard, the EU wishesto for reiterate its position,namely that the MandateReviewis not intended as a costcutting exercisebut as an ongoing processto improve the effectiveness and quality of the organisation's work. Furthermore,we believethat the Mandate R e v i e wmu st b e se e n a s co mp lem entar y other ongoingpr ocesses to such as M a n a g e me n t e fo rm,th e H i g h- Level R Panelon system - wide coher ence and G A revitalisation,all of which are interlinkedand mutually reinforced. To ensure that MandateReviewcovers in a meaningfulway the tasks the organisationis effectivelyperforming,w believethat all currently active mandateswhich originatedmore than five years before the Summit, whether reaffirmed or not, should be covered by this effort. As we have emphasised, the EU i s e x a mi n i n gw i th a n o p e n mind all mandatesfallingunder this r eview, i n c l u d i ng o se i n i ti a te do r co -sponsor ed its member s. th by Mr.Co-chair The EU has often stated that the MandateReviewshould take place in an inclusive and transparent process.We therefore welcomethe progressthat has been made to date in this forum and in the Ad Hoc Working Group. We believethat fruitful d i s c u s s io n o k p l a cei n th e Wor kingGr oup and that a good m omentumexis tsto to f u r t h e r bu i l d o n . We re ma i n re ady to wor k closelywith the Co- chair s and other d e l e g a t i o n s a ch i e veme a n i n gful to and ear ly r esults.

We fully support the way forward proposedby the Co-chairs.We believethat the Working Group should continueto meet and discusshow to deal with mandates that are five years old or more and have not been renewed.We appreciatethat this will require careful analysis,but hope that this can neverthelessbe achieved b y t h e e n d o f Ju l y. We encouragethe Co-chairsto continue consultations the hope that agreement in can be reachedon a way forward as soon as possible. T h a n k yo u , Mr. C o -ch a i r