G7 Summit 2021
The seven members (the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, France, and Italy, as well as the European Union) of the Group of Seven share common values as open, democratic, and outward-looking societies. Since the 1970s, the leaders have met annually with the heads of the EU, and ministerial meetings take place throughout the year.
In recent years, the G7 has taken steps to strengthen the global economy and combat tax evasion, as well as save 27 million lives from AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, and support the education of millions of children in the world’s poorest countries. In 2015, its members were instrumental in securing the historic Paris Climate Agreement to reduce global emissions.
This year, the United Kingdom has assumed the presidency of the G7 (Group of Seven), the only forum that brings together the world’s most influential and open societies and advanced economies for close-knit discussions.
With Britain holding the presidency of the G7 Group of wealthy nations this year, Boris Johnson will have the opportunity to play a key role on the global stage at the summit. However, when the three-day meeting in the coastal resort of Carbis Bay begins on Friday, the prime minister will be dealing with some difficult issues, both on the official agenda and behind the scenes.
Northern Ireland
According to The Times, Joe Biden is expected to use a pre-conference meeting with Johnson to “explicitly express” his support for the Northern Ireland Protocol.
According to the report, Biden will tell the prime minister that the protocol, which was agreed in 2019 as part of the Brexit deal, is “integral” to “maintaining long-term peace” in Northern Ireland and upholding the Good Friday Agreement, in which the US played a key role in securing the agreement.
The UK is hoping to reach a major trade agreement with the US, but the president is expected to warn that any such agreement could be jeopardised if the Ireland issue remains unresolved.
The protocol is also at the heart of a new row between the United Kingdom and the European Union. Chief Brexit negotiator David Frost is embroiled in a battle with Brussels over the export of chilled meat goods from the British mainland to Northern Ireland, dubbed the “sausage wars” by several newspapers. With negotiations at a stalemate, time is running out to resolve the dispute before Frost joins Johnson at the G7 summit’s official opening on Friday.
Cuts in Foreign Aid
Johnson is also at odds with his own MPs over cuts to foreign aid. Conservative rebels are opposed to the government’s goal of 0.7% of GNP being reduced to 0.5% this year.
According to the BBC, the cuts, which amount to more than £4 billion, have put the PM on a “collision course” with several senior Conservative backbenchers and opposition MPs, who argue that the reduction in aid spending contradicts a manifesto commitment made by the Tories in 2019.
Britain Post-Brexit
According to CNN, the G7 talks provide Johnson with a “truly golden opportunity” to present his vision of post-Brexit Britain as a “champion of the liberal democratic world and protector of Western values.”
According to the US news network, many other countries see Brexit as an “inward-looking project carried out by a nation hostile to the outside world.” However, the summit provides an opportunity to “hit something of a reset button on Britain’s reputation abroad on the grandest stage of all.”
CNN adds that Johnson’s camp is “confident that hosting the G7 will be a PR triumph for Global Britain.” While they are “probably correct,” the Conservative leader “is a particularly gaffe-prone politician who has been caught out on numerous occasions for saying wildly inappropriate things.”
Vaccinations
The G7 countries are under increasing pressure to help end the global pandemic by ensuring that Covid-19 vaccines are available in every country. More than 100 former prime ministers, presidents, and foreign ministers have written to G7 leaders, urging them to pay two-thirds of the $66 billion (£46.5 billion) needed to vaccinate low-income countries’ populations against the coronavirus.
Johnson has pledged to urge his G7 counterparts to “rise to the greatest postwar challenge” by “vaccinating the world by the end of next year.” The United Kingdom has already contributed £548 million in aid to the Covax vaccine-sharing scheme. However, the BBC reports that, while the United States, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan have “all said how many doses they will donate to Covax,” the United Kingdom has yet to specify how much it intends to contribute.
On Friday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock stated that vaccinating children in the UK would take precedence over sending doses abroad.
Changes in the Climate
Climate change is likely to be at the top of the agenda at the Cornwall talks. According to the Times, Johnson will “push G7 leaders to support a new climate change plan to assist developing countries in decarbonising their economies and limiting global warming.”
According to reports, the PM hopes to reach an agreement to support large-scale renewable energy projects in Africa and parts of Asia. However, Chancellor Rishi Sunak, according to the newspaper, is “resisting any commitment to provide new UK money before the autumn spending review.”
Securing the support of both the Treasury and fellow G7 nations is a critical step towards realising Johnson’s goals for the COP26 climate change conference, which he will host in Glasgow later this year. The British prime minister is hoping to gain the support of developing countries for a commitment to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
