Chair,

Director General,

Excellencies,

Colleagues,

I am delivering this statement on behalf of the EU and its 27 Member States.

The candidate countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Ukraine, Republic of Moldova* and Georgia, the EFTA countries Iceland and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Armenia align themselves with this statement.

The Executive Board decision to establish a pilot process to test the efficacy of governance reform measures was a significant and decisive step towards more efficient, inclusive, predictable and transparent governance processes. At the same time, the decision marks an important achievement in the overall WHO reform process, which will help make organizational structures and governing bodies fit-for-purpose.

We welcome the draft decision on the implementation parameters and future modalities, as well as the agreement reached on the design of the pilot through an inclusive consultation process.

A commitment by all member states to engage with the process and contribute to the successful implementation of the pilot is key, as it will benefit the Organisation, member states themselves and all relevant parties. It will improve efficient consultation, meaningful participation and effective decision making. We will continue to engage with member states through the member-states led governance reform model to progress on the implementation plan and to ensure its success.

This two-year pilot offers an exceptional opportunity to thoroughly assess which measures are genuinely helpful in improving cooperation and decision-making amongst all member states. We should make the most of this opportunity by implementing the agreed reform measures and discussing the inclusion of additional measures at a later stage of the pilot. The EU is therefore looking forward to continuing discussion on the outstanding elements and finding ways to further increase the impact of the governance reform process.

Thank you.