Miroslav Lajčák hopes that under his presidency the United Nations General Assembly will overcome narrow national interests and produce tangible benefits for people. “My hope is that the 72nd session of the General Assembly will be a good one, a productive one that will result in many concrete solutions to the world’s problems,” Mr. Lajčák told UN News ahead of the session’s opening today. The career diplomat from Slovakia, who was elected by the 193-member Assembly as its President, highlighted two of the...

A high-level delegation of the European Union will attend the ministerial week of the 72nd United Nations General Assembly, starting on 18 September in New York. The EU representatives will participate in a large number of events at the United Nations and meet with world leaders, reflecting the European Union's engagement as a force for positive change, in support of multilateralism and a rules-based global order. The level and breadth of the EU's participation illustrates the strong cooperation between the...

The State of the Union 2017: Catching the wind in our sails European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker today delivered his 2017 State of the Union Address, before the Members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, presenting his priorities for the year ahead and outlining his vision for how the European Union could evolve by 2025 (see full speech). He presented a Roadmap for a More United, Stronger and More Democratic Union (see Roadmap Factsheet). European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said today: "The wind is back...

At today’s (September 7, 2017) meeting the Governing Council of the ECB decided that the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will remain unchanged at 0.00%, 0.25% and -0.40% respectively. The Governing Council expects the key ECB interest rates to remain at their present levels for an extended period of time, and well past the horizon of the net asset purchases. Regarding non-standard monetary policy measures,...

The Fifth progress report on the Partnership Framework on Migration, presented today by the Commission and the High Representative, shows that measures put in place to better manage migration along the Central Mediterranean Route and with partners in Africa are starting to bear fruits. The number of tragic deaths at sea has significantly decreased over the summer months, alongside a substantial reduction in the number of migrants crossing the Central Mediterranean. Jointly with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the...

EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström today announced that the EU will launch an international Alliance for Torture-Free Trade. The initiative – a joint effort with Argentina and Mongolia – aims to end the trade in goods used for capital punishment and torture and will be formally launched on 18 September during United Nations General Assembly week in New York. The Alliance for Torture-Free Trade is a global effort by countries from all over the world to stop the trade in goods...