Wikipedia

Eastern European Group

The Group of Eastern European States, or EEG, is one of the five United Nations regional groups composed of 23 Member States from Eastern, Central and Southern Europe.[1][2]

Eastern European Group
AbbreviationEEG
Formation1964; 62 years ago (1964)
TypeRegional group
Legal statusActive
Region served
Europe
icon Politics portal
The Eastern European Group in 2012, with the years each member spent in the United Nations Security Council, including former members represented as outlines

The Group, as with all the regional groups, is a non-binding dialogue group where subjects concerning regional and international matters are discussed. Additionally, the Group works to help allocate seats on United Nations bodies by nominating candidates from the region.[3][4]

History

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Prior to the creation of the Regional Groups in 1964, the United Nations Security Council had an Eastern European and Asian Seat, that was occupied between 1946 and 1964 by countries from Eastern Europe (including Greece and Turkey), as well as by members of the modern Western European and Others and Asia-Pacific Groups.

Since its creation, the Group has changed significantly due to the dissolution of various members: the Soviet Union in 1991, Yugoslavia between 1991-2006 and Czechoslovakia in 1993. Additionally, through the process of German reunification, the Group lost the German Democratic Republic as one of its member states.

Members

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Eastern European Group

Current members

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Historical members

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Representation

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The Eastern European Group has two seats in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC); the permanent seat of Russia, and one elected seat, currently held by Latvia. The Group further has 6 seats on the United Nations Economic and Social Council and 6 seats on the United Nations Human Rights Council. It is also eligible for having its nationals elected as President of the United Nations General Assembly in years ending with 2 and 7; most recently, Csaba Kőrösi of Hungary was elected to this position in 2022 and was the office holder of the Seventy-seventh session.[6]

Security Council

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The Eastern European Group holds two seats on the Security Council, 1 non-permanent and 1 permanent. The current members of the Security Council from the Group are:[7][8]

Country Term
 Russia Permanent
 Latvia 1 January 2026 – 31 December 2027

Economic and Social Council

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The Eastern European Group holds six seats on the United Nations Economic and Social Council. The current members of the Economic and Social Council from the Group are:[9][10]

Country Term
 Poland 1 January 2024 – 31 December 2026
Armenia 1 January 2025 – 31 December 2027
Azerbaijan
 Croatia 1 January 2026 – 31 December 2028
 Russia
 Ukraine

Human Rights Council

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The Eastern European Group holds six seats on the United Nations Human Rights Council. The current members of the Economic and Social Council from the Group are:[11][12]

Country Term
 Albania 1 January 2024 – 31 December 2026
 Bulgaria
Czechia 1 January 2025 – 31 December 2027
North Macedonia
 Estonia 1 January 2026 – 31 December 2028
 Slovenia

Presidency of the General Assembly

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Every five years in the years ending in 2 and 7, the Eastern European Group is eligible to elect a president to the General Assembly.[1]

The following is a list of presidents from the region since its official creation in 1963:[13]

Year ElectedSessionName of PresidentCountryNote
196722ndCorneliu Mănescu Romania
197227thStanisław Trepczyński Poland
197732ndLazar Mojsov YugoslaviaAlso chaired the 8th, 9th and 10th special sessions of the General Assembly
198237thImre Hollai Hungary
198742ndPeter Florin German Democratic RepublicAlso chaired the 15th special session of the General Assembly
199247thStoyan Ganev Bulgaria
199752ndHennadiy Udovenko UkraineAlso chaired the 10th emergency special and 20th special sessions of the General Assembly
200257thJan Kavan Czech RepublicAlso chaired the 10th emergency special session of the General Assembly
200762ndSrgjan Kerim FYR Macedonia
201267thVuk Jeremić Serbia
201772ndMiroslav Lajčák SlovakiaAlso chaired the 10th emergency special session of the General Assembly
202277thCsaba Kőrösi HungaryAlso chaired the 11th emergency special
Future
202782ndTBDTBD
203287thTBDTBD

Timeline of membership

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As the Eastern European Group changed significantly over time, the number of its members had also changed.

YearsNumber of membersNotes
1966–197310Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Soviet Union; Ukraine (as Ukrainian SSR) and Belarus (as Byelorussian SSR) were members on their own right (see here)
1973–199011German Democratic Republic being a member
199010German reunification
1991–199221Dissolution of the Soviet Union (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan), breakup of Yugoslavia (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia)
199322Dissolution of Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic, Slovakia)
2006–present23Dissolution of Serbia and Montenegro (Serbia, Montenegro)

Notes

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See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 Wanza, Serah N. (27 November 2017). "What Are The Five Regional Groups of the United Nations?". Worldatlas. Worldatlas. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  2. 1 2 "United Nations Handbook 2018–19" (PDF). United Nations Handbook:: An Annual Guide for Those Working within the United Nations (56 ed.). Wellington: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand: 15–17. 2018. ISSN 0110-1951. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-01-25. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  3. ↑ "Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia. n.d. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  4. ↑ Agam, Hasmy; Sam Daws; Terence O'Brien; Ramesh Takur (26 March 1999). What is Equitable Geographic Representation in the Twenty-First Century (PDF) (Report). United Nations University. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  5. ↑ "Regional groups of Member States". United Nations Department for General Assembly and Conference management. United Nations. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  6. ↑ "Hungarian diplomat Csaba Korosi elected UN Assembly president". www.aa.com.tr. Retrieved 2025-05-17.
  7. ↑ "Current Members". United Nations Security Council. United Nations. n.d. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  8. ↑ "General Assembly Elects Estonia, Niger, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Tunisia, Viet Nam as Non-Permanent Members of Security Council for 2020-2021". United Nations Meetings Coverage & Press Releases. United Nations. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  9. ↑ "Members". United Nations Economic and Social Council. United Nations. n.d. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  10. ↑ "General Assembly Elects 19 Economic and Social Council Members to Terms Beginning 1 January 2020, Adopts Resolution Commemorating Signing of United Nations Charter". United Nations Meetings Coverage & Press Releases. United Nations. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  11. ↑ "Current Membership of the Human Rights Council, 1 January - 31 December 2019 by regional groups". United Nations Human Rights Council. United Nations. n.d. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  12. ↑ "General Assembly Elects 14 Member States to Human Rights Council, Appoints New Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services". United Nations Meetings Coverage & Press Releases. United Nations. 17 October 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  13. ↑ "Past Presidents". United Nations General Assembly. United Nations. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  1. ↑ Formerly represented by the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic until 1991
  2. ↑ The UN switched from using "Czech Republic" to "Czechia" in 2022.
  3. ↑ Formerly under name "The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" until 2019
  4. ↑ Formerly represented by the Soviet Union until 1991
  5. ↑ Permanent member of the United Nations Security Council
  6. ↑ Formerly represented by the Ukrainian SSR until 1991
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