UNITED NATIONS, May 28 (Xinhua) -- The global coronavirus pandemic is testing the multilateral system like never before and the Security Council must stop "infighting" and step up to the challenge, the European Union's foreign policy chief told the 15-member body on Thursday.

Josep Borrell said the novel coronavirus crisis, like climate change, shows the need for "collective action and that the rules-based international order, with the UN at its core, must be upheld and strengthened."

"At a time of global crisis, we need a Security Council able to take the necessary decisions and not one that is paralyzed by vetoes and political infighting," said Borrell, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

He added that "the world needs a revitalized multilateral system, but this will only happen if we all invest in it. This, the EU is doing. We count on those who sit on the Security Council to do their part."

In a wide-ranging briefing at the start of a Security Council debate on UN-EU cooperation, Borrell said that the 27-nation bloc is doing "whatever it takes" to combat the COVID-19 crisis.

But he emphasized that the battle at home can only succeed if the virus is defeated in every corner of the world.

He expressed agreement with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, that socio-economic recovery packages must aim to "build back better" by investing in sustainable and resilient societies, emphasizing that human rights must also be fully respected.

"The COVID-19 crisis has laid bare the fragilities of a hyper-globalized and interdependent world," he said.

"We must learn the wider lessons and take seriously how human health and planetary health are linked and how existing inequalities are making us more vulnerable."

On UN-EU cooperation, he said that the bloc remains a staunch supporter of a strong United Nations "as the beating heart of the multilateral system" and that its member nations, who are collectively the biggest contributor to the UN budget, fully support the secretary-general's blueprint for reforming the organization. Enditem

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