Mr Chair,

I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

The Candidate Countries North Macedonia*, Montenegro*, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina^* and Georgia, as well as Monaco align themselves with this statement.

I would like to start by thanking Mr Tumasie Blair of Antigua and Barbuda for his skilful work as facilitator of this resolution.

 The Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for Small Island Developing States, agreed at the 4th International Conference on SIDS, sets out an ambitious plan to boost resilience and prosperity for SIDS over the coming decade. The EU is committed to contributing to its implementation, through strengthened partnerships, and we welcome the opportunity to set the stage for this work through this Resolution.

Throughout the negotiations, the EU made every effort to engage openly and constructively, for the benefit of all the SIDS, and we are glad to see this text adopted by consensus today. This is illustrative of our shared commitment to seeing the immediate implementation tasks arising from ABAS advanced and we look forward to playing our part, working closely with SIDS and others, in that regard.

The EU wishes to express regret, however, with regard to two areas.

First, it is unfortunate that there was reluctance to consider and therefore no agreement to include agreed language on critical thematic issues. In particular, we refer to language on climate mitigation, the climate and security nexus, and gender equality.  This language has been the centre piece of earlier iterations of this resolution and a central feature of ABAS and the SIDS4 Conference. 

SIDS are leading voices and key partners in highlighting the need for immediate, urgent, accelerated action on climate issues, as underlined by the reports of the IPCC, IPBES and IRP. The EU and its Member States worked closely with SIDS to achieve the COP28 outcomes, including transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade.

The EU showed flexibility during negotiations this year, with the understanding that all delegations will be ready to engage substantively on these important cross-cutting matters next year and as the implementation of ABAS progresses. Recommitment to these issues will contribute to driving ABAS implementation forward.

We hope that in the future we can also agree on the reference to the Paris Agreement in the United Nations Treaty Series - if we are to achieve our climate objectives, we must remain united.

Secondly, we are disappointed that the text does not welcome the Summit of the Future, or the Pact for the Future and its annexes, which were adopted by consensus by our leaders. The Pact for the Future can be a roadmap for reinvigorated efforts toward achievement of the SDGs and the revitalisation of the multilateral system. This would support the implementation of ABAS and the sustainable development of SIDS, notably in respect of such critical issues for SIDS, as climate change, disaster risk reduction, sea level rise, and biodiversity loss, as well as international ocean governance, and the conservation and sustainable use of marine living resources, and resilience of ocean ecosystems, not to mention financing for development and the reform of the international financial architecture. The EU and its Member States support an ambitious reform of the international financial architecture, taking into account SIDS specificities, through innovative initiatives such as the Paris Pact for People and Planet. The EU stands shoulder to shoulder with SIDS on all of these issues and is keen to continue working constructively on them together ahead of such key processes as FfD4, from June 30 to July 3, in Sevilla, WSS2, from November 4 to 6 in Qatar, and the 3^rd United Nations Ocean Conference in June 2025 in Nice which will be a key moment to elevate SIDS’ priorities.

In closing, let me stress that we welcome the adoption of this Resolution and its focus on implementing ABAS. SIDS have a friend and a committed partner in the EU and we look forward to continuing our partnership with you in the critical period ahead.

I thank you.

* North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.