WRITTEN QUESTION E-1967/97 by Edith Müller (V) to the Council (10 June 1997)

Subject: Cooperation between EU and UN

The European Union, and its Member States, spend a lot of money every year to cooperate with the UN. It is in the citizens' interest to know what we get for this money.

1. What representation does the EU or its Member States have in the different UN bodies, specified body by body?

2. How much does each Member State contribute per year? If possible, please specify how these contributions are distributed among the different UN bodies.

Answer (21 November 1997)

1. European Union representation in UN bodies matches the arrangements provided for in Article J.5 ("the Presidency shall represent the Union in matters coming within the common foreign and security policy¨ and "shall in principle express the position of the Union in international organizations¨) and Article J.2(3) ("Member States shall coordinate their action in international organizations¨ and "shall uphold the common positions in such forums¨) of the Treaty on European Union. The Presidency is assisted by the Council General Secretariat, which has liaison offices in both New York and Geneva. The Treaty further provides that "Member States which are also members of the United Nations Security Council will concert and keep the other Member States fully informed. Member States which are permanent members of the Security Council will, in the execution of their functions, ensure the defence of the positions and the interests of the Union, without prejudice to their responsibilities under the provisions of the United Nations Charter¨.

The European Community, represented by the Commission, is an observer at the UN for matters within its ambit. It is a member of some specialized agencies, such as the FAO.

The Member States play an active part in the main UN bodies and in the many specialized agencies. Two Member States of the EU are permanent members of the Security Council and two others are currently non-permanent members. All EU Member States are represented in the General Assembly. Eight Member States currently belong to the Economic and Social Council.

All the EU Member States are also members of the UN's specialized agencies.

2. The contributions made by each Member State to the UN's ordinary budget are not broken down by agency and the budget is allocated among the Secretariat's departments according to the tasks they have been assigned.

By way of illustration, aggregate 1997 contributions by EU Member States account for 35.4 % of the UN's ordinary budget and 37.9 % of its budget for peacekeeping operations. The Honourable Member will find attached a detailed breakdown of figures by Member State. EU Member States further participate, under different formulae, in the various UN programmes and agencies. The aforementioned figures do not reflect "cooperation between EU and UN¨, but participation by EU Member States in the United Nations.

3. The European Union as such may also contribute on a voluntary basis to United Nations activities that accord with the goals of the Treaty on European Union, particularly through joint actions. Thus is contributed, for example, to the UN special Fund for Zaire (Joint Action of 11 November 1996 in support of the democratic transition process in Zaire) and the UN Voluntary Trust Fund for assistance in mine clearance (Joint Action of 1 October 1996 on anti-personnel landmines, Joint Action of 12 May 1995 on anti-personnel mines and Decision of 25 March 1996 complementing that Joint Action) ((Decision 96/656/CFSP (OJ L 300, 25.11.1996, p. 1), Decision 96/588/CFSP (OJ L 260, 12.10.1996, p. 1), Decision 95/170/CFSP(OJ L 115, 22.5.1995, p. 1) and Decision 96/25/CFSP (OJ L 87, 4.4.1996, p. 3). )). ANNEX

The UN's biennal budget for 1996-1997 amounts to $ 2,6 billion.

EU Member States contribute to the 1997 budget as follows (%):

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