The European Union and its Member States remain committed to implementing the Pact for the Future, together with the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration on Future Generations, as a shared instrument to modernise the multilateral system and rebuild trust, the EU told an informal UN General Assembly meeting on 14 July 2026. Speaking in New York, Marie-Aurélie Vernin, Team Leader for SDGs at the European Commission's DG INTPA, delivered the EU statement during a roundtable discussion titled 'Making Multilateralism Fit for the Future'. The statement emphasised that the Pact, adopted in 2024, can help reinvigorate the multilateral system, advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), reform the international financial architecture, and strengthen the peacebuilding architecture through the 2025 Peacebuilding Architecture Review. The EU called for sustained momentum for the Pact's implementation despite UN budgetary constraints and geopolitical tensions, linking it to the UN80 reform exercise and the upcoming leadership of a new UN Secretary-General.
The statement highlighted the importance of the Pact's commitments on means of implementation and global governance reform. Accelerating SDG implementation should be a priority, with primary responsibility lying with national governments, but reform of the international financial architecture can help close the SDG financing gap. The EU's main contribution to implementing the SDGs beyond its borders is the Global Gateway strategy, which is being scaled up through over 150 Team Europe initiatives worldwide to coordinate and combine resources for greater impact. The EU expressed readiness to contribute to and monitor implementation of the Pact through relevant UN forums and to prepare for the 2028 UN Stocktaking Summit.
The EU statement did not announce new financial commitments or specific policy measures, instead reiterating existing positions and reaffirming support for the multilateral framework. The intervention comes as the UN faces budgetary pressures and geopolitical divisions, with the EU positioning itself as a defender of the multilateral system. The statement reflects a diplomatic effort to maintain focus on long-term global governance reforms amid short-term crises.