K. whereas, empowered by the Treaties and the right of the Community institutions to organise their own affairs, as recognised in the case-law of the Court of Justice, the Commission has, as the external action of the Communities has expanded, set up numerous delegations to third countries and to international organisations; whereas the Council has liaison offices in New York and Geneva to handle relations with the United Nations; whereas the combi ...[+++]ned input of those Commission delegations and Council liaison offices or their conversion into joint representations of the Council and the Commission will create a network with approximately 5 000 staff, as one of the foundations for the creation of the EEAS,

K. whereas, empowered by the Treaties and the right of the Community institutions to organise their own affairs, as recognised in the case-law of the Court of Justice, the Commission has, as the external action of the Communities has expanded, set up numerous delegations to third countries and to international organisations; whereas the Council has liaison offices in New York and Geneva to handle relations with the United Nations; whereas the combi ...[+++]ned input of those Commission delegations and Council liaison offices or their conversion into joint representations of the Council and the Commission will create a network with approximately 5 000 staff, as one of the foundations for the creation of the EEAS,

K. whereas, empowered by the Treaties and the right of the Community institutions to organise their own affairs, as recognised in the case-law of the Court of Justice, the Commission has, as the external action of the Communities has expanded, set up numerous delegations to third countries and to international organisations; whereas the Council has liaison offices in New York and Geneva to handle relations with the United Nations; whereas the combi ...[+++]ned input of those Commission delegations and Council liaison offices or their conversion into joint representations of the Council and the Commission will create a network with approximately 5 000 staff, as one of the foundations for the creation of the EEAS,

6. Is of the opinion that the EU, in agreement with the Member States, should be more actively involved in UN programmes (by taking part at the initial stage, when needs are assessed and appropriate responses worked out, and thereafter, when the decisions are implemented) and that the EU should use the intergovernmental conference (IGC) scheduled for 2004 as the occasion on which to clarify the issues surrounding the legal basis for its external action within the context of international law, and should in particular specify and strengthen the Commission's legal status in international institutions and grant it membership status in the specialised UN agencies in the sa ...[+++]me way as it is a member of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO); calls, likewise, for the nature of and means available to the Commission delegations to the United Nations to be brought into line with the increasingly important role which they play in implementing EU external action in general, and in the field of development and humanitarian aid in particular, as well as in the area of coordination between the Commission and the 15 Member States, so as to guarantee that EU action in this field is consistent and of global significance;

6. Is of the opinion that the EU, in agreement with the Member States, should be more actively involved in UN programmes (by taking part at the initial stage, when needs are assessed and appropriate responses worked out, and thereafter, when the decisions are implemented) and that the EU should use the intergovernmental conference (IGC) scheduled for 2004 as the occasion on which to clarify the issues surrounding the legal basis for its external action within the context of international law, and should in particular specify and strengthen the Commission’s legal status in international institutions and grant it membership status in the specialised UN agencies in the sa ...[+++]me way as it is a member of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO); calls, likewise, for the nature of and means available to the Commission delegations to the United Nations to be brought into line with the increasingly important role which they play in implementing EU external action in general, and in the field of development and humanitarian aid in particular, as well as in the area of coordination between the Commission and the 15 Member States, so as to guarantee that EU action in this field is consistent and of global significance;

NATO has a liaison officer at the UN in New York.