Monday 22 - Friday 26 September: General Assembly of the United Nations, New York City

Het logo van de Verenigde Naties
datum 26 september 2014
plaats New York City, Verenigde Staten
aanwezigen S. (Štefan) Füle i, A. (Andris) Piebalgs i, C. (Connie) Hedegaard i, K. (Kristalina) Georgieva i e.a.
organisatie Europese Commissie (EC) i

The news:

Next week, President Barroso and Commissioners will travel to New York for the plenary week of the 69th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) and to attend the UN Secretary General's Climate Leaders' Summit on 23 September - the first occasion of world leaders meeting on climate since Copenhagen in 2009. The Summit is bringing together an expected 120 world leaders with CEOs of business and leaders of civil society and it shall give added momentum for reaching a new global climate agreement in Paris next year.

Following the invitation of the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon President Barroso will also address the High-level meeting on Response to the Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak on the 25 September.

The background:

The UN Secretary General's Climate Leaders' Summit on 23 September will be the first occasion of world leaders to meet on climate since Copenhagen in 2009.  Whilst the Summit is not part of the formal process under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), it should, by bringing together an expected 120 world leaders with CEOs of business and leaders of civil society, give added momentum in the 'race to the top' for ambition ahead of the Paris Conference of the Parties to UNFCCC in December 2015, where a new agreement on climate change should be adopted. US President Obama is expected to attend the Summit.

The General Debate of the 69th UN General Assembly (UNGA 69) opens on 24 September. This year the UN General Assembly week will be marked by the Leader's Summit on Climate Change, the follow-up to the International Conference on Population and Development and the World Conference on Indigenous People. The situation in the Middle East and Ukraine will also feature high on the agenda. The Ebola crisis will draw attention as the situation deteriorates on the ground in West Africa. Delivering on the Millennium Development Goals, the follow up to Rio+20 and the post-2015 discussions will be a key UN priority this year.

On the margins of the UNGA, President Barroso will have several bilaterals. He will meet the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. He will also meet the new President of the UN General Assembly, Sam Kutesa of Uganda, as well as the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and the Malian President Keita.

Four EU Commissioners will be present during UNGA Ministerial Week. Commissioners Connie Hedegaard and Andris Piebalgs will largely focus on the Climate Summit and sustainable energy and development events. Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva will notably focus on the humanitarian situations in Syria and CAR, while Commissioner Štefan Füle will participate in the regular Western Balkans Foreign Ministers meeting.

During the UNGA Ministerial week the main attention of the High Representative/Vice President Ashton will focus on making progress in the talks with Iran on its nuclear programme, which she leads. Intensive talks have been planned for the period between at least 16 and 26 September. High Representative/Vice President Ashton will also host the EU28 foreign ministers' meeting; attend the EU–US reception and the Transatlantic dinner, and participate in a series of other high-level meetings.

The sources:

Official website of the General Assembly of the United Nations

President Barroso's official website

Follow on twitter: #UNGA, @BarrosoEU

  • 1. 

    Available on EbS

The contacts:

Leonor Ribeiro da Silva +32 (0) 2 298 81 55 leonor.ribeiro-da-silva@ec.europa.eu

Raquel Patrício Gomes+32 (0) 2 297 48 14 raquel-maria.patricio-gomes@ec.europa.eu


1.

Europese Commissie (EC)

Deze instelling van de Europese Unie kan worden beschouwd als het 'dagelijks bestuur' van de EU. De leden van de Europese Commissie worden 'Eurocommissarissen i' genoemd. Elke Eurocommissaris is verantwoordelijk voor één of meerdere beleidsgebieden. Momenteel zijn er 26 Eurocommissarissen. In principe is er voor iedere lidstaat één. Samen vormen zij het college van Eurocommissarissen. De Eurocommissarissen moeten het belang van de Europese Unie als geheel behartigen, niet dat van hun eigen land.

De Europese Commissie mag als enige EU-instelling wetsvoorstellen indienen; zij heeft het zogenaamde recht van initatief. Daarnaast controleert de Commissie of de Europese wetgeving juist wordt toegepast in de lidstaten, onderhandelt zij in internationale organisaties als de Wereldhandelsorganisatie (WTO) i over de handel van de Unie met het 'buitenland' en is zij verantwoordelijk voor het beheer van de Europese begroting van ongeveer 140 miljard euro per jaar.

2.

Meer over...