G7 summit in Taormina, Italy, 26th-27th of May
On 26 and 27 May 2017, Italy will host the meeting of the G7 leaders. The summit will focus on the global economy, foreign policy, security of citizens, and environmental sustainability. European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will represent the EU at the summit.
The theme of the Italian G7 presidency in 2017 is ‘Building the foundations of renewed trust’. The presidency highlights that governments should adopt policies aimed at meeting their citizens’ expectations. The work programme of the presidency is based on these three pillars:
- citizen safety
- economic, environmental and social sustainability and reduction of inequalities
- innovation, skills and labour in the age of the next production revolution
Background
The G7 summit is a forum that plays an important role in shaping global responses to global challenges, complementing the global economic coordination carried out by the G20. It brings together leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and the EU.
This summit follows the G7 Summit in Japan in 2016 and the summit hosted exceptionally by the EU in Brussels in 2014.
Leaders have been meeting in the G7 format since 2014 following the Russian Federation’s violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The EU as G7 member
In 1977, representatives of the then European Community began participating in the London summit. Originally, the role of the EU was limited to those areas in which it had exclusive competences, but this role has expanded over time. The EU has gradually been included in all political discussions on the summit agenda and , from the Ottawa summit (1981) onwards, has taken part in all summit working sessions.
The EU has all the responsibilities of membership. The summit communiqué is politically binding on all G7 members.
The rotation of the presidency is as follows: Japan in 2016, Italy in 2017, Canada in 2018, France in 2019, and the USA in 2020.
