The European Union and the United Nations are natural partners. They are united by the core values laid out in the 1945 Charter of the United Nations, and the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Member states and the Commission are the largest contributors to the UN system. A total of 1.3 billion euros was approved by the EC to be channeled to the UN in 2006. Europe plays an active role in both shaping and implementing international standards for human rights worldwide. The increased collaboration over the past ten years between UN and the European Commission should be seen against the background of Europe’s policy towards the United Nations. Expressed in the Commission’s communication of 2001 on "Building an effective partnership with the UN", reinforced in 2003 by a further Communication entitled “EU-UN relations: The choice of multilateralism", the European Union has established itself as a major partner of the United Nations. The latter communication called for a comprehensive strengthening and mainstreaming of EU-UN relations by systematic policy dialogue and greater cooperation in the field mainly through:

• Political engagement at the highest level: contacts between the institutions for the EU and the UN Secretary General and Deputy Secretary-General;

• Exchanges on country-level policies: interviews between the Commission and Council and UN departments of political affairs and peace-keeping operations respectively;

• Furthering policy dialogue and cooperation: formal strategic partnerships have been signed aimed a furthering policy dialogue and strengthening cooperation (to date six strategic partnership agreements have been signed);

• Regular exchange of draft documents between the Commission and UN team in Brussels for the purpose of mutually contributing to policy formulation;

• Cooperation between country delegations and UN country teams in defined development cooperation strategies on the ground, as well as in the programmatic portfolio.

To facilitate programmatic cooperation between the EC and the UN, an updated Financial and Administrative Framework Agreement (FAFA) was agreed in 2003. Signed on 29 April by Deputy Secretary General Fréchette and Commissioner Nielson, the FAFA applies to all contribution-specific agreements signed between both organizations after that date. The agreement provides a single shared legal, financial and administrative framework for all programmatic cooperation between the Commission and the UN. Since its entry intro force the FAFA has made cooperation more efficient, ensuring faster start-up of activities and ensuring administrative consistency across operations.

On 28 June 2004, the UNDP and the EC entered into a Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) through the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding to set out and better define the relational focus between the two institutions. The objective of the Partnership is to facilitate policy dialogue and specific collaboration at global, regional and country level, with the appropriate involvement of partner countries and is expected to bring harmonization and complimentarity as well as financial cooperation between the two institutions. The MoU focuses on governance (including elections, parliament and governance indicators), conflict prevention and post conflict reconstruction through regular policy dialogue, enhanced programme collaboration at all levels including financial cooperation.

2006 marks the result of intense cooperation between the UNDP and the EC in the area of electoral assistance. On the 21st April 2006, AIDCO Director General K. Richelle signed with the UNDP Associate Administrator Ad Melkert, the EC/UNDP Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of Electoral Assistance Programs and Projects. The Guidelines outline practical measures for the strengthening and the facilitation of the already established cooperation between the EC and the UNDP in the domain of electoral assistance (in full respect of the provisions laid out in the existing FAFA between the EC and the UN).