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.
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.
History
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
Current members The following are the current Member States of the Eastern European Group:
Historical members (1966–1993) (1966–1992) (1973–1990)
Representation 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.
Security Council 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:
Country Term Permanent 1 January 2026 – 31 December 2027
Economic and Social Council 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:
Country Term 1 January 2024 – 31 December 2026 1 January 2025 – 31 December 2027 1 January 2026 – 31 December 2028
Human Rights Council 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:
Country Term 1 January 2024 – 31 December 2026 1 January 2025 – 31 December 2027 1 January 2026 – 31 December 2028
Presidency of the General Assembly
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.
The following is a list of presidents from the region since its official creation in 1963:
Year Elected Session Name of President Country Note 1967 22nd Corneliu Mănescu 1972 27th Stanisław Trepczyński 1977 32nd Lazar Mojsov Also chaired the 8th, 9th and 10th special sessions of the General Assembly 1982 37th Imre Hollai 1987 42nd Peter Florin Also chaired the 15th special session of the General Assembly 1992 47th Stoyan Ganev 1997 52nd Hennadiy Udovenko Also chaired the 10th emergency special and 20th special sessions of the General Assembly 2002 57th Jan Kavan Also chaired the 10th emergency special session of the General Assembly 2007 62nd Srgjan Kerim 2012 67th Vuk Jeremić 2017 72nd Miroslav Lajčák Also chaired the 10th emergency special session of the General Assembly 2022 77th Csaba Kőrösi Also chaired the 11th emergency special Future 2027 82nd TBD TBD 2032 87th TBD TBD
Timeline of membership As the Eastern European Group changed significantly over time, the number of its members had also changed.
YearsNumber of membersNotes1966–1973 10Poland, 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)1973–1990 11German Democratic Republic being a member1990 10German reunification1991–1992 21Dissolution of the Soviet Union (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan), breakup of Yugoslavia (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia)1993 22Dissolution of Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic, Slovakia)2006–present 23Dissolution of Serbia and Montenegro (Serbia, Montenegro)
Notes
See also Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations Community of Democratic Choice Council of Europe Eastern Europe Eastern Partnership Eurasian Economic Union Euronest Parliamentary Assembly European Neighborhood Policy Eurovoc Future enlargement of the European Union List of political parties in Eastern Europe Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Post-Soviet states
References