French President Emmanuel Macron criticized the UN Security Council.

According to him, this international body no longer makes "useful decisions."

“Today the formats of multilateral cooperation are in a weakened state, because their work is blocked: I am obliged to say that the UN Security Council today no longer makes useful decisions,” said Emmanuel Macron.

The French leader expressed this opinion in an interview with Le Grand Continent.

He noted that 2020 was marked by crises.

First of all, we are talking about the COVID-19 pandemic and the problem of terrorism, which again made itself felt in Europe.

These crises have complemented structural challenges: global climate change and inequality.

Answering the question of the publication, Macron noted the "connecting thread" between the solution of short-term crises and long-term prospects.

“It is that we need to re-create forms of international cooperation,” the French president said.

Striving for leadership

According to Macron, it is impossible to defeat the pandemic without cooperation.

The French President also announced the need for "two solid supports."

First of all, it is necessary "to find tools for useful international cooperation without wars, but such that it would allow us to respond to modern challenges."

It is also necessary “to build a much stronger Europe that can defend its voice with its strength and its principles within the framework of the new format,” the French president added.

  • Emmanuel Macron

  • © Ian Langsdon / Pool via REUTERS

To develop such cooperation, it is necessary that it could be created by “proportionate poles around the new multilateral format”.

According to the French leader, the system of international cooperation built following the Second World War is in crisis.

“We are witnessing the crisis of the multilateral system in 1945: the crisis of its effectiveness, but what, in my opinion, is more serious - deep down there is a crisis of those universal values ​​that its structures carry,” Macron said.

Experts believe that the French leader is partly guided by populist motives, criticizing international institutions.

“So far, the French President has not had major achievements in the field of international politics, so he resorts to populism.

In addition, Emmanuel Macron is trying to position himself as a strong leader capable of strong steps.

For example, he tried to speak from such positions after the recent terrorist attacks in France.

However, this desire often remains just words, "said Vladimir Shapovalov, deputy director of the Institute of History and Politics at Moscow State Pedagogical University, in a commentary on RT.

Andrei Suzdaltsev, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs at the Higher School of Economics, shares a similar point of view.

“As Angela Merkel prepares to step down in the future from the post of German Chancellor, Macron is trying to consolidate himself as a key European leader.

For this, he makes such loud statements.

At the same time, so far Paris does not propose any specific institutional changes in the UN, it is just that the French side is drawing the organization's attention to European issues, "the expert explained in an interview with RT.

  • San Francisco Conference: Egyptian Representative Signs UN Charter

  • © UN / Archives

The United Nations was founded in 1945 during the San Francisco Conference.

The decisions taken then laid the foundation for a new post-war world order and created a system of mutual containment to prevent new global conflicts such as World War II.

The Security Council operates in the UN structure, the body consists of 15 members of the organization.

Of these, 10 are elected for a term of two years, and five have the status of permanent members.

These are the USA, Great Britain, China, Russia and France.

The permanent members of the UN Security Council have a veto.

As reported on the UN website, "The Security Council bears the primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security."

In some cases, the Security Council may apply sanctions or even approve the use of force to maintain peace and security. "

"Influential Institute"

Calls for reforming the United Nations have been heard in the last century.

The issue of expanding the composition of the UN Security Council was included in the agenda of the 34th session of the UN General Assembly in 1979.

In 1993, within the framework of the 48th session of the General Assembly, an open-ended Working Group was even established to study the possibility of expanding the UN Security Council.

The result of this work was the UN General Assembly Resolution 53/30.

The document says that decisions on the representation of countries in the UN Security Council can be made by at least two-thirds of the votes of the General Assembly.

A number of countries speak directly about their desire to become a permanent member of the Security Council.

For example, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced in September 2020 of the need to reform the UN, as well as the desire of the German side to join the enlarged Security Council of the organization.

According to Merkel, in its current form, the Security Council "too often finds itself in a deadlock" and needs reform.

  • Angela Merkel

  • Reuters

  • © Michele Tantussi

Japan also shows a desire to join the UN Security Council.

As Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said in his message on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the UN, the organization needs reforming.

Tokyo is convinced that changes cannot be postponed, since today the system "does not fully meet the purposes of the charter."

Japan is ready to assume the duties of a permanent member of the UN Security Council to ensure peace and stability on the planet.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also insists on the need to reform the UN Security Council.

In his opinion, the current UN structure, which makes the fate of the entire population of the planet dependent on five countries, is not fair.

Erdogan also said that it is impossible to overcome today's challenges with the help of structures that were created according to the "needs" of the last century.

According to Vladimir Shapovalov, today more and more states claim to improve their status in the international arena, strive to become regional leaders.

“Also, in some cases we can talk about attempts to solve some internal political problems.

States strive to strengthen their positions in the struggle for world hegemony.

And all these statements are attempts to revise the system of relations that developed as a result of the Second World War.

However, in practice, such a revision may threaten with a sharp escalation of tension in the world arena, ”the expert said.

Andrei Suzdaltsev also noted the desire of many countries to enter the list of permanent members of the UN Security Council.

“This is an influential institution, and many countries are striving to join it,” the expert explained.

Expressed dissatisfaction with the work of the UN in the United States.

At the end of 2016, Donald Trump announced that the UN had become a "club" where people gather just to "pass the time."

The Trump administration also believed that spending on UN funding did not correlate with the beneficial results of the organization's work.

Important site

Problems in the work of the UN were also noted by Russian President Vladimir Putin in his article

"75 years of the Great Victory: shared responsibility to history and the future."

“Of course, we see that the UN system is working with tension now and not as efficiently as it could.

But the UN continues to fulfill its main function.

The principles of the UN Security Council are a unique mechanism for preventing a major war or global conflict, "Putin said.

In his video address at the plenary meeting of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly, Putin explained that the logic of Moscow is that the Security Council should take into account the positions of all countries more fully, but at the same time serve as a "key link" in the global governance system.

The Russian leadership proposed to convene a summit of the "Big Five" countries to work out a way to effectively solve acute problems.

The initiative was supported by other permanent members of the Security Council.

The meeting can take place when the epidemiological situation improves.

  • UN building in Geneva

  • © Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

According to Vladimir Shapovalov, despite the sounding criticism, the UN remains the only legitimate space uniting all countries of the world, and the Security Council is the only structure capable of making decisions on global security issues.

"The face-to-face summit of the leaders of the five countries of the UN Security Council could play a positive role for the organization," the expert added.

At the same time, the prospects for such a forum now depend on many factors, including the pandemic, and what position the United States will take, where the presidential elections were held in early November, explained Andrei Suzdaltsev.

“However, it is obvious that the UN Security Council remains a platform for dialogue and allows us to resolve issues important for the whole world,” the expert summed up.