The European Union has called for a stronger partnership with the United Nations on peacebuilding and conflict prevention, warning that peace cannot be taken for granted amid spreading violent conflicts and deepening fragility. In a statement delivered on 25 June 2026 at the UN Peacebuilding Commission Annual Session in New York, Peter Wagner, Head of the Commission Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI), stressed that the EU-UN partnership with new joint priorities for 2025-2028 is more important than ever.
Wagner noted that the EU and its member states remain the largest financial contributor to the UN system, providing roughly one-third of total funding. He said the EU is currently negotiating its budget and political priorities for the next seven years and is working to ensure peace and security are properly catered for. The statement also welcomed the first-ever Peacebuilding Week as a testament to collective commitment to turn words into action.
The EU championed the meaningful participation of European civil society in last year's Peacebuilding Architecture Review, which concluded by consensus. Wagner highlighted the recognition of prevention as a universal path to sustainable peace, calling it a paradigm shift. He also announced that the EU has launched a year-long, cross-regional series of discussions that will produce policy recommendations on UN peacebuilding and conflict prevention by early next year.
The statement comes as the EU seeks to make the UN system more efficient, transparent, and inclusive, with Wagner thanking UN Secretary-General António Guterres for his efforts in this regard. The EU's commitment to multilateralism based on international law and the UN Charter was reaffirmed, with Wagner describing the EU itself as a project of peace, integration, and cooperation born after the Second World War.