The European Union expressed regret that the ninth review of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (GCTS) failed to preserve the consensus that had accompanied every previous review, while welcoming the adoption of the resolution. In a statement delivered on 1 July 2026 at the UN General Assembly in New York, Ambassador Hedda Samson, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to the UN, spoke on behalf of the EU and its Member States, noting that the text safeguards two decades of joint achievements but fell short of the more ambitious outcome the EU had sought.
The statement highlighted the persistent threat from Da'esh, Al-Qaida and their affiliates across Afghanistan, Central Asia, Syria, Iraq, the Sahel and the wider African continent, as well as the growing risk from lone actors, including minors, amplified by transnational networks and online ecosystems. The EU called for a renewed collective response anchored in shared fundamental values, stressing that respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law remain essential to the Strategy's credibility and long-term effectiveness. Counterterrorism measures must be grounded in international law, including human rights law, refugee law and humanitarian law, and must never be directed against civil society.
The EU underscored the need to address root causes of radicalisation, such as armed conflict, governance gaps and social fragility, and called for stronger synergies between counter-terrorism and peacebuilding initiatives. It also urged a comprehensive multi-stakeholder approach to counter the misuse of emerging technologies by terrorist groups, in close cooperation with the private sector and civil society, while ensuring that such technologies are used responsibly and in line with human rights. On institutional matters, the EU encouraged the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and all Compact entities to strengthen human rights mainstreaming, gender-responsive approaches, and independent oversight, and called for better integration of UNOCT into resident coordinator and country team structures.
The statement reaffirmed the EU's commitment to multilateralism and noted its significant financial contributions to capacity-building partnerships under the Global Compact. The EU thanked the co-facilitators—the Permanent Representatives of Finland and Morocco—for their efforts, and civil society for its constructive partnership. The Candidate Countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, and the EFTA countries Liechtenstein and Norway, as well as Monaco and San Marino, aligned themselves with the statement.