The leaders of the seven major industrialised powers (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom) will meet on Friday 19 February at 3pm for a G7 video conference chaired by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the post-Covid-19 recovery.
The videoconference will focus on the response to the pandemic and global recovery, an angle chosen by the UK Presidency of the G7. But leaders will also discuss structural issues, such as climate change, the economy, trade and the geopolitical context.
This meeting is the first since the April 2020 videoconference under the US Presidency. US President Joe Biden will participate for the first time.
“This will give a new angle”, said a senior EU official, on Thursday 18 February, during a briefing on the EU’s expectations. It will also be a first for the new President of the Italian Council, Mario Draghi, and the Japanese Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga.
The presidents of the European Council, Charles Michel, and of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will represent the EU. A statement by G7 leaders is expected at the end of the summit.
Universal access to vaccines. Ensuring universal access to vaccines at an affordable price is a priority for the EU.
“We consider vaccines to be a global public good”, said the official.
To this end, the EU believes that the COVAX initiative to ensure fair and equitable access for 92 low- and middle-income countries and the ACT-A initiative (ACT-Accelerator) should be strengthened.
On Wednesday, Ursula von der Leyen had stressed to the press that COVAX was ready to distribute doses, but lacked resources, with 2 billion dollars to date. “They would need 7 billion. We need to increase funding capacity in the coming days”, she said.
Regulatory issues also need to be addressed, including the role of the World Bank. “We are hoping for progress on how best to help non-Member States. The EU has called for geographical balance. The UK supports this idea”, according to a senior official.
We can expect the G7 to commit to working with COVAX. The G7 Finance Ministers agreed, on 12 February, to support vulnerable countries in their post-Covid-19 recovery and to take the lead in this recovery in 2021 (see EUROPE 12658/16).
Pandemic preparedness. G7 leaders will discuss global pandemic preparedness ahead of the G20 Health Summit in Rome in May under the Italian Presidency and Mr Michel’s initiative for an ‘International Pandemic Treaty’.
“The aim is to commit to a new treaty that can improve transparency. The principle is supported by the WHO for increased efficiency. We will see if there are positive developments in this regard”, said this senior EU official.
Economy. The idea is to get a commitment on the appropriate economic response for the fastest possible recovery. The EU attaches great importance to a rules-based, multi-layered system and the reform of the WTO (see EUROPE 12660/6).
In addition, it sees the digital transition as a key element for the green transition.
Geopolitical context. The difficulties encountered by the WHO in its mission to China to identify the origin of the pandemic could be addressed.
“Some leaders called for more transparency and clarity. It is important to engage with China to have more transparency”, said the same source.
The issue of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine and its possible authorisation in the EU is not on the agenda, “but the leaders are free to discuss what they want”.
Climate and nature. In addition, a commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 with a view to the COP26 in Glasgow (1-12 November 2021) is expected.
The next G7 summit is scheduled for June in Cornwall (Cardis Bay). This would be the first meeting with a physical presence since the Biarritz summit in 2019. An opportunity to be seized, according to Boris Johnson, to “build back better after the coronavirus [’build back better’ is the terminology used by the UN and the World Economic Forum, editor’s note], by uniting to make the future fairer, greener and more prosperous”. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)