THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
Joint press encounter with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel
Brussels, 23 March 2023
Cher Charles merci infiniment de ton accueil assis chaleureux.
This visit demonstrates the excellent cooperation between the European Union and the United Nations. This is indeed a crucial moment.
We have a perfect storm in many developing countries, a combination of factors that lead to a very dramatic situation. Sustainable Development Goals are moving backwards. More hunger, more poverty, less education, less health services in so many parts of the world. And, it is clear that our international financial system is not fitting the purpose to deal with such a huge challenge.
And we very much count on the European Union to lead the transformations that are necessary in order to be able to put back on track the 2030 Agenda.
On the other hand, the last report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change shows a dramatic situation. We’re close to the tipping point that will make 1.5 degrees impossible to achieve.
So, we need dramatic action, we need an acceleration agenda and once again we count on the leadership of the European Union in this regard, as it has been demonstrated in several other moments.
And finally, the Russian invasion of Ukraine is causing tremendous suffering to the people of Ukraine but also having a huge impact globally and we will take profit of this occasion to exchange views on our best to confront these challenges.