Source: United Kingdom UK Parliament (video statements)
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Prime Minister’s Question Time, also referred to as PMQs, takes place every Wednesday the House of Commons sits. It gives MPs the chance to put questions to the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer MP, or a nominated minister.
In most cases, the session starts with a routine ‘open question’ from an MP about the Prime Minister’s engagements. MPs can then ask supplementary questions on any subject, often one of current political significance.
The Leader of the Opposition, Kemi Badenoch MP, asks six questions and the leader of the second largest opposition party asks two. If another minister takes the place of the Prime Minister, opposition parties will usually nominate a shadow minister to ask the questions.
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On 10 September 2025, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, delivers the State of the European Union address – known as SOTEU – to the European Parliament.
The SOTEU address is an annual speech by the President of the European Commission to the European Parliament, setting her priorities for the Union for the year ahead.
The address is followed by a debate with Members of the European Parliament, reinforcing accountability. Each SOTEU speech sets out the President’s vision and major initiatives for the year ahead, marking an important moment to shape the EU’s direction and respond to citizens’ expectations.
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Briefing by Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, on the future of Peace Operations.
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Also addressing the Council today, Rosemary A. DiCarlo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, said, “There is one fundamental fact that no review, no matter how extensive or ambitious, can change: the failure or weak implementation of mandates is often related to the lack of political support for such operations – in the countries where they are deployed, among regional countries and in the Council, itself. We will therefore need to engage with a laser like focus on bringing the emphasis back to the political questions at the heart of each conflict and finding multilateral responses to them.”
UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations said, “Peacekeeping is not a luxury; it is a lifeline for millions who count on it for a future without fear.”
Addressing the Security Council today (09 Sep), Jean-Pierre Lacroix, said, “Peacekeeping is not a luxury; it is a lifeline for millions who count on it for a future without fear. Over 60,000 peacekeepers representing 115 Member States bravely carry out its vital work in 11 missions, making peacekeeping the UN’s largest and most visible activity in the field.”
He also said, “Rather than retreat we must use the expertise and valuable lessons from nearly eight decades of peacekeeping to use this valuable tool to respond to the legitimate expectations that “the peoples” hold towards the fulfillment of the Charter.”
He continued, “We continue to do our utmost to uphold the highest standards of conduct and discipline. We continue pre-deployment training on conduct and discipline for all uniformed personnel as well as in mission training. We provide avenues for victims to come forward, investigate allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse and when allegations are substantiated, we take the requisite action.”
He added, “From November 2024 to April 2025, we repatriated 17 uniformed personnel on disciplinary grounds. And together with concerned Member States, we have also actively sought solutions to address the too many pending paternity and child support claims – so that children fathered by peacekeepers and their mothers can have closure and assistance.”
He stressed, “To advance durable political solutions that enable peacekeeping to withdraw without a relapse into conflict requires the strong, unified and ongoing support of this Council – through the adoption of clear, prioritized mandates, active political engagement and statements of support. This must be matched by the payment of assessed contributions in full and on time.”
Also addressing the Council today, Rosemary A. DiCarlo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, said, “There is one fundamental fact that no review, no matter how extensive or ambitious, can change: the failure or weak implementation of mandates is often related to the lack of political support for such operations – in the countries where they are deployed, among regional countries and in the Council, itself. We will therefore need to engage with a laser like focus on bringing the emphasis back to the political questions at the heart of each conflict and finding multilateral responses to them.”
Earlier this morning, Ambassador Sangjin Kim, Charge d’affaires, a.i., Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations, addressed the press, joined by representatives of Denmark, France, Greece, Guyana, Panama, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, and the United Kingdom on Climate, Peace and Security in the context of UN Peace Operations.
He said, “For decades, UN peace operations have proven to be testaments of multilateralism in action –saving lives, preventing the spread of conflicts, and sustaining peace. At the same time, however, there is an increasing need for these operations to adapt and respond to complex challenges, notably climate change.”
He added, “Its devastating impacts such as droughts, floods, and land degradation have shown to exacerbate, prolong, or even trigger conflicts, affecting civilian populations as well as UN personnel and activities.”
He stated, “UN peace operations need to be climate-sensitive throughout the entire peace continuum.”
Press Conference: Launch of the UN Secretary-General’s report – The Security We Need: Rebalancing Military Spending for a Sustainable and Peaceful Future.
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“The world is spending far more on waging war than on building peace,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said as he presented a new report showing global military expenditure hit a record $2.7 trillion in 2024, soaring by more than nine per cent from 2023 and signaling a dangerous move away from the principles of the UN Charter.
That is “the equivalent of $334 for every person on Earth,” Guterres told reporters at UN headquarters. “That is nearly thirteen times the amount of official development assistance from the world’s wealthiest nations – and 750 times the regular budget of the United Nations.”
The report, ‘The Security We Need: Rebalancing Military Spending for a Sustainable and Peaceful Future,’ warns that soaring defense budgets are diverting resources from education, healthcare, and climate resilience at a time when only one in five Sustainable Development Goal targets is on track.
“Our shared promise of sustainable development is in jeopardy,” Guterres said. “The financing gap is growing – and so is the cost of inaction.”
He said the report carries three urgent messages: that the current trajectory is unsustainable, that a better path is possible, and that practical steps are needed to rebalance priorities. “Budgets are choices,” Guterres noted. “Redirecting even a fraction of today’s military spending could close vital gaps – putting children in school, strengthening primary health care, expanding clean energy and resilient infrastructure, and protecting the most vulnerable.”
“The evidence is clear,” he added. “Excessive military spending does not guarantee peace. It often undermines it – fueling arms races, deepening mistrust, and diverting resources from the very foundations of stability.”
Izumi Nakamitsu, the UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, said reversing the trend requires recommitting to multilateralism and diplomacy and warned of rising risks. “All nuclear weapon states have been investing huge amounts of money to modernize their nuclear arsenals, and soon, or we might already be in quantitative nuclear arms race starting,” she said. “There is also the rhetoric, or, in our view, misperception that nuclear weapons actually give the ultimate security, which is also causing yet another additional proliferation driver.”
UNDP Acting Administrator Haoliang Xu said the gains of recent decades are at risk. “The human growth that we have achieved over the last few decades will possibly decline. So, what happens from here, is up to us,” he said, urging a shift towards a people-centered and multi-dimensional approach to security.
The Secretary-General’s report projects global military spending could rise to $6.6 trillion by 2035 if current trends continue, further widening the $4 trillion annual financing gap needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
Remarks by Ms. Annalena Baerbock, President of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, at the 1st plenary meeting of the 80th session of the General Assembly.
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Opening the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly today (9 Sep), the President of the Session Annalena Baerbock reiterated, “The world needs the United Nations,” calling on nations to uphold UN Charter. “We are, indeed, better together,” she said.
Addressing the General Assembly, Baerbock emphasized that the world body “remains the only organization capable of bringing together every country in the world. The only one capable of acting on a truly global scale. The only one with worldwide political legitimacy and moral authority.”
The President of the General Assembly described the 80th Session as a “no ordinary session.”
“Our job today – 80 years later – is to keep it alive, to strengthen it, and to make it fit for the 21st century,” she said.
Baerbock continued, “This is the year to adapt, to evolve, and to build the United Nations we need for the next 80 years – for the lifetimes of our children. It is a moment to show eight billion people why this Organization still matters. Why they are right to look to the blue flag of the United Nations as a source of hope.”
The President of the General Assembly reaffirmed her commitment to serving each of the 193 Member States of this Organization “equally.”
“I will be impartial, a bridge builder, guided by only one thing – our United Nations Charter. It will be my North Star. I will always act with the belief that we are truly better together,” she stressed.
The theme of the High-Level Week is: Better Together: Eighty Years and More for Peace, Development, and Human Rights.
Baerbock encouraged all to embrace the theme, not only at this year’s General Debate, but also throughout the work of the upcoming session.
“Let us not re-learn the hard lessons,” she said, “Let us instead come together, especially in the moments we would like to give up, to respond to those desperate calls from around our world. To bring relief to the hungry children of Gaza. To give Afghan girls their future back. To deliver peace to the people of Ukraine. To provide safety to Sudanese women and girls. To save small island states from the climate catastrophe. And to deliver on the promise of ending poverty in all its forms.”
The President of the General Assembly concluded, “This 80th session is our chance. Our chance to make it, not break it. To live up to the promises of the Charter. For today, for tomorrow, and for the next 80 years. Showing that we are, indeed, better together.”
