The G7 summit as a stage for the new post-pandemic equilibrium
The G7 summit kicks off three intense days of meetings where the leaders of the seven countries will tackle what has already been dubbed the "3Cs": COVID, Trade and Climate. US President Joe Biden has generated great expectations for this summit where he will meet with the leaders of the world's most developed economies.
The first day of the G7 summit is expected to address economic recovery in the post-pandemic world. According to a White House statement, "G7 leaders will discuss ways to forge a fairer, more sustainable and inclusive global economy that responds to the unique challenges of our time". The United States, led by President Biden, has made it clear that it is back on the path of multilateralism, leaving behind the turbulent years of the isolationist Trump administration.
Among the measures to be discussed to achieve a "fair and sustainable" economic recovery would be the establishment of a global minimum corporate tax that the finance ministers of this group agreed last week in London. The United States considers this measure to be "fundamental", and it is a sign of "the Biden Administration's commitment to build a global tax system that is equitable", according to the White House.
Washington stresses that this agreement "is a key part of our efforts to pursue a middle-class foreign policy, and will help support working families around the world". Also on the agenda today is the elimination of the Digital Services Tax (DST), which will affect "large multinationals across the board, both domestic and foreign, and not just the technology sector".
The summit has been dubbed "Build Back Better", a slogan chosen by the UK, which holds the rotating presidency of the G7 and therefore hosts a summit that has not been held in person for more than two years. There are many factors that make this summit a special event: the new US administration, the Brexit problem in Europe and a new configuration of the post-pandemic world. That is why COVID will be another of the topics to be discussed over the weekend.
US President Joe Biden announced before leaving for his European tour that the United States had pledged to donate 500 million vaccines. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in his meeting with the US President yesterday, announced that the UK would donate a further 100 million doses. Both countries hope that the rest of the leaders will join this initiative and that the G7 will commit to donating 1 billion vaccines to developing countries to advance global immunisation. Although, as reported by the Efe news agency, the organisation Amnesty International (AI) has already warned that the commitment to donate one billion doses of the vaccine against HIV/AIDS-19 is only "a drop in the ocean" in the face of global needs.
Joe Biden has emerged as a great defender of environmental policies; in fact, one of the main measures he took as soon as he stepped into the Oval Office was to reincorporate the United States into the Paris Pact, in its fight against the climate emergency.
This is the start of a vitally important meeting in which the leaders of the world's major economies will come face to face after more than two years. Among the leaders attending the summit will be US President Joe Biden and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will also attend. Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Japan's Yoshihide Suga and the host country's Prime Minister Boris Johnson will also attend. The European Union (EU) will also be represented by Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. Non-member countries invited to this year's meeting include India, South Korea and Australia.
The G7 summit could bring about a new world economic order marked by pandemics. The first results are already being announced: the White House has made an official statement announcing Angela Merkel's visit to the United States on 15 July. According to the official statement, the two leaders will discuss their commitment to cooperate closely on a series of common challenges, such as ending the AIDS-19 pandemic, addressing the threat of climate change and promoting economic prosperity and international security based on our shared democratic values.
The meeting between Angela Merkel and the US president comes moments before the official start of the G7 summit, and in a context of disagreements between the two countries over the construction of the NordStream 2 gas pipeline that will connect Russia with Germany and which the United States considers a threat. Washington considers that the pipeline would increase Russian influence over Europe and would negatively affect both the continent's energy security and the gas market in Eastern Europe.
A summit that has yet to begin is already beginning to bear fruit. The US president is putting his country back on the path of multilateralism and doing so in style with a marathon European tour. Once the G7 summit is over, he will travel to Brussels, where the NATO meeting will take place, as well as a summit between the United States and the European Union. Finally, to round off this intense trip, the most eagerly awaited meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden will take place.