EU Statement Joint Meeting of the Executive Board of UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS: UNDP Segment

Dear Administrator, Excellencies, Colleagues,

I am delivering this statement on behalf of the European Union as a donor.

UN80 is a defining test for the United Nations development system. The EU supports reform with maximum ambition: not simply incremental efficiencies, but structural changes that reduce fragmentation, strengthen country-level coherence and ensure that scarce resources reach programmes and people.

We also welcome your emphasis on adapting the development model to today's realities: public resources are under pressure, needs are growing, and every development euro must work harder. This makes reform and prioritisation indispensable.

We welcome UNDP's engagement in 14 of the 31 UN80 work packages. The Expertise-on-Demand initiative, bringing together 27 UN entities and more than 2,000 service offerings, demonstrates the potential to provide countries with more coherent and accessible expertise. Its implementation should be assessed against clear evidence of improvements in development impact, costs and response times.

We also welcome UNDP's extensive shared-service infrastructure. Its Quantum platform is used by 11 partner organisations, its Global Shared Services Centre supports more than 70 UN entities, and UNDP provides common services to 46 entities across 116 UN Country Teams. Costs, service standards and efficiency gains should be transparent, with savings demonstrably supporting country-level delivery.

Formal alignment of UNDP country programmes with Cooperation Frameworks is important, but alignment on paper is not sufficient. Resident Coordinators should be the main entry point for engagement with the UN development system at country level. They must have the authority, information and institutional support to provide genuine strategic leadership. Individual entities should contribute their technical and operational expertise within this coherent country-level framework.

We take note of UNDP's focus on moving from aid to investment and on helping countries build the policies, institutions and investment environments that allow finance to flow. This is strongly aligned with the EU's Global Gateway approach, particularly where UNDP can help strengthen governance, regulatory frameworks, public financial management, sustainable finance and institutional capacity.

We also welcome UNDP's focus on fragile and crisis-affected settings, where development must begin from day one. UNDP can add value by helping restore institutions, services, livelihoods and local markets, while working coherently with the wider UN system under Resident Coordinator leadership.

The EU also expects ambition on structural reform. We welcome the submission of Terms of Reference for an independent assessment of a possible UNDP-UNOPS merger. It must identify the model offering the greatest improvement in development impact, coherence and value for money.

We also welcome the finalisation of the EFSD+ guarantee agreement with UNCDF and look forward to signing it at UNGA. As the first EFSD+ guarantee agreement with a UN entity, it sends a strong signal of confidence in multilateral cooperation. The Sustainable Cities Guarantee Facility should help turn urban investment into tangible improvements for people, from affordable housing and safer public lighting to stronger transport links, digital connectivity and climate-resilient urban services.

The EU remains committed to an effective, independent and adequately financed UN development system. We are prepared to support that system politically and financially. In return, we expect UNDP to use its universal presence, operational capacity and influence to drive the most ambitious possible reform and demonstrate that UN80 can deliver tangible change on the ground.

Questions

1. On the UNDP-UNOPS merger, what is the expected timeline?
2. Beyond administrative efficiencies, where do you see the strongest case for consolidating mandates, functions or institutional structures across the UN development system?
3. How will UNDP ensure that shared services, digital platforms and Expertise-on-Demand generate measurable savings, faster response times and better development impact?
4. How will UNDP strengthen its support for Resident Coordinator leadership at country level?
5. What can Member States expect from UN80 over the next year, particularly regarding country-level coherence, financial savings and development impact?