UN Secretary-General’s Remarks at Press Encounter with Charles Michel, President of the European Council
Brussels, Belgium, 24 June 2021
Secretary-General: Thank you very much for your warm welcome. I think we must be humble when we face such a huge number of existential threats and recognize the fragility of our societies and our planet. Fragility in relation to the pandemic, in relation to climate; Fragility in relation to lawlessness in the cyberspace, in relation to growing inequalities and the lack of trust in many of our societies; Fragility also because of geopolitical divides; Fragility even because of the risks in relation to the proliferation of nuclear weapons that are there again on the table.
And all these fragilities show how important it is to enhance international cooperation and to have a stronger and more inclusive multilateralism.
For that to be possible, we need a strong united and active Europe. The European Union has been an absolutely essential strategic partner to the UN. In all aspects, from human rights, to peace and security, from sustainable development to climate, the European Union’s taxpayers represent one in each four euros that we spend. And I want to take profit of this occasion to express my deep gratitude and appreciation for this exemplary partnership. And I hope that our discussions today will help to strengthen it even more.
Thank you very much.
Question: What do you think about the Hungarian law?
Secretary-General: No discrimination is acceptable in any circumstances, and any discrimination against LGBTIQ+ people is totally unacceptable in our modern societies.