Speak up! Getting the EU a Voice at the UN General Assembly

Abstract

With the address by the President of the European Council in the general debate that opened the 66th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 22 September 2011, a small but historic step was taken for the participation of the European Union (EU) in the work of the United Nations (UN). Of course, the EU had already been for many years an active and prominent participant in the work of the UN. But for the very first time, its positions in the yearly meeting of leaders that kicks-off the UN season were conveyed not by an EU member state but by the permanent President of the European Council. Adding a collective voice to that of its member states at the UN can only serve in the long run to strengthen the role of the EU in the work of that organisation, for the benefit of the UN, and as an international actor more broadly.