SECRETARY-GENERAL MEETS WITH LEADERS OF EUROPEAN UNION

Press Release
SG/T/1999

SECRETARY-GENERAL MEETS WITH LEADERS OF EUROPEAN UNION

On the second day of his visit to Strasbourg, on Tuesday, 14 November, the Secretary-General met with leaders of the European Union.

At 9:30 a.m., the Secretary-General met for 45 minutes with Jacques Santer, President of the Commission of the European Union; and Hans Van den Broek, Commissioner for External Relations. The Secretary-General was accompanied by Under-Secretary-General Vladimir Petrovsky, Director-General of the United Nations Office in Geneva. They discussed the relationship between the United Nations and the European Union. The President recalled that the European Union remained fundamentally committed to supporting and strengthening the United Nations. The Secretary-General expressed the gratitude of the United Nations for the excellent cooperation extended by the European Union.

Referring to the financial crisis of the United Nations, the Secretary- General expressed the hope that the European Union would offer its assistance in providing ideas and suggestions to find solutions. President Santer promised he would bring up the issue of putting the United Nations on a sound financial footing at the next Summit meeting of the European Council to be held in Madrid in mid-December.

The Secretary-General and the President discussed the rehabilitation efforts to be pursued in the former Yugoslavia in the framework of the peace process and stressed the importance of coordination.

At 10:15 a.m., the Secretary-General took part in an enlarged meeting with the Commission of the European Union which included, in addition to the President and Mr. van den Broek, Manuel Marin, Commissioner for Development Aid and for Relations with the Middle East and South Mediterranean; Emma Bonino, Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs; and Joao de Deus Pinheiro, Commissioner for Relations with the African, Pacific and Caribbean States (ACP). Members of the Commission hailed the good working relations of the Commission with the United Nations system, especially the Department for Humanitarian Affairs, in the field of humanitarian assistance. The Secretary- General stated that humanitarian assistance should be interrelated with long- term development efforts. The representatives of the Commission stressed the

importance of fighting the donor fatigue. The Secretary-General welcomed the forthcoming humanitarian high-level meeting on humanitarian affairs to be held in Madrid, in mid-December just prior to the European Union Summit meeting. The Secretary-General and the representatives of the Commission discussed the peace process in the Middle East. The Commission briefed the Secretary- General on the forthcoming Conference on Euro-Mediterranean cooperation to be held in Barcelona.

At 11:20 a.m., the Secretary-General was welcomed at the European Parliament Headquarters by its President, Klaus Hansch, who presented the Secretary-General with the Medal of the Parliament.

The Secretary-General and the President had a 40-minute meeting. Their topics of discussion included the United Nations presence in the former Yugoslavia and the future of the Middle East peace process. The President thanked the Secretary-General for his visit to the European Parliament in the framework of the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations. The Secretary-General stressed the essential role played by the European Union in the achievement of the main goals of the United Nations: peace, development and democratization.

At noon, the Secretary-General addressed a solemn plenary meeting of the European Parliament, organized to mark the Fiftieth Anniversary of the United Nations.

At 12:45 p.m., the Secretary-General, accompanied by the President of the European Parliament, gave a 15-minute press conference.

At 1:00 p.m., the Secretary-General attended a luncheon given in his honour by the President of the European Parliament. The President of the Commission was also in attendance.

In the afternoon, the Secretary-General travelled back to Geneva. He immediately held a series of internal meetings focusing, in particular, on the former Yugoslavia, with the following senior aides: Kofi Annan, Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the former Yugoslavia; Sadako Ogata, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; José Ayala Lasso, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Ibrahima Fall, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights.

On 15 November, from 10:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. the Secretary-General met with Cornelio Sommaruga, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross at the ICRC headquarters.

The Secretary-General later met with Vladimir Petrovsky, Director- General of the United Nations Office in Geneva.

At midday, the Secretary-General left Geneva for New York.

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