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.
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, 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

  • Representation

The Eastern European Group has two seats in the United Nations Security Council ; the permanent seat of Russia, and one elected seat, currently held by Slovenia. 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:
CountryTerm
RussiaLVA

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:
CountryTerm
1 January 2024 – 31 December 2026
Armenia

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:
CountryTerm
1 January 2024 – 31 December 2026
1 January 2024 – 31 December 2026
Czechia

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:

Timeline of membership

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 and Belarus were members on their own right
1973–199011German Democratic Republic being a member
199010German reunification
1991–199221Dissolution of the Soviet Union, breakup of Yugoslavia
199322Dissolution of Czechoslovakia
2006–present23Dissolution of Serbia and Montenegro