I am delivering this statement on behalf of the EU and its MS. The Candidate Countries North Macedonia*, Montenegro^*, Albania^*, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina^* and Georgia, as well as Monaco and San Marino align themselves with this statement.

Dear co-facilitators, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Jamaica, let me first of all, thank you for your excellent work, bringing together so many contributions into a well prepared zero draft. This was not an easy task.

Thank you also for your presentation today and for the clear timeline. We will take a close look at the zero draft and come back with comments by your written-input deadline: We are grateful that you made the zero draft available well in advance, so we can be well prepared at first reading.

This document is structured and concise, offering guiding principles and clear commitments and follow up proposals to be taken on board and further refined in the negotiations. We continue to support this approach, making the Declaration effective in meeting the interests of the future generations and for us all to be able to best adapt to future opportunities and challenges, in a world that is changing ever faster.

We welcome the upholding of the three founding pillars of the UN system: peace and security, sustainable development and human rights. We appreciate the references to the international rule of law, strengthening of multilateralism, as well as ensuring clean, healthy and sustainable environment - countering environmental threats -  and bridging the digital divides.

We very much support the emphasis on foresight and the use of science and data in policymaking. The zero draft’s strong focus on gender equality is also one of the decisive factors for unleashing future generations’ full potential.

The EU welcomes the need to promote intergenerational equity and solidarity, in concrete follow-up proposals included at the end of the zero draft. Would you be able to give us more detail on what your proposed “forms of operationalization of our commitment to future generations” entail?

Finally, let me restate the EU’s full support to this process and towards an action-oriented and ambitious Declaration for Future Generations, annexed to the Pact for the Future, a consensus document bringing the global community together for a better future for us all, and relaunching the thrust in our global governance efforts.

Thank you.

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