G8
The Group of Eight (G8) was an
The forum originated with a
"G7" can refer to the member states in aggregate or to the annual
Each calendar year, the responsibility of hosting the G8 was rotated through the member states in the following order: France, United States, United Kingdom, Russia (suspended), Germany, Japan, Italy, and Canada. The holder of the presidency sets the agenda, hosts the summit for that year, and determines which ministerial meetings will take place.
In 2005, the UK government initiated the practice of inviting five leading emerging markets –
History
Following 1994's G7 summit in Naples, Russian officials held separate meetings with leaders of the G7 after the group's summits. This informal arrangement was dubbed the Political 8 (P8)—or, colloquially, the G7+1. At the invitation of UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.S. President Bill Clinton,[13] President Boris Yeltsin was invited first as a guest observer, later as a full participant. It was seen as a way to encourage Yeltsin with his capitalist reforms. Russia formally joined the group in 1998, resulting in the Group of Eight, or G8.
Focus of G8
Major focus of the G8 since 2009 has been the global supply of food.[14] At the 2009 L'Aquila summit, the G8's members promised to contribute $22 billion to the issue. By 2015, 93% of funds had been disbursed to projects like sustainable agriculture development and adequate emergency food aid assistance.[15][16]
At the 2012 summit,
Russia's participation suspension (2014)
On 24 March 2014, the G7 members cancelled the planned
Later on, the Italian Foreign Affairs minister
A "new G8"
On June 11 2022, Vyacheslav Volodin, the current Chairman of the State Duma, announced on Telegram that "countries wishing to build an equal dialogue and mutually beneficial relations would actually form, together with Russia, a 'new G8.'"[34] Although Volodin mentioned the group of eight countries not participating in the sanctions against the Russian Federation—China, India, Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico, Iran, and Turkey—there have been no updates regarding the new G8; however, four of the seven nations listed are already apart of, or are expected to join in 2024, BRICS.
Structure and activities
By design, the G8 deliberately lacked an administrative structure like those for international organizations, such as the United Nations or the World Bank. The group does not have a permanent secretariat, or offices for its members.
The presidency of the group rotates annually among member countries, with each new term beginning on 1 January of the year. The rotation order is: France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia (suspended), Germany, Japan, Italy, and Canada.[35] The country holding the presidency is responsible for planning and hosting a series of ministerial-level meetings, leading up to a mid-year summit attended by the heads of government. The president of the European Commission participates as an equal in all summit events.[36]
The ministerial meetings bring together ministers responsible for various portfolios to discuss issues of mutual or global concern. The range of topics include health, law enforcement, labor, economic and social development, energy, environment, foreign affairs, justice and interior, terrorism, and trade. There are also a separate set of meetings known as the
In June 2005, justice ministers and interior ministers from the G8 countries agreed to launch an international database on
Global energy
At the
G8 Finance Ministers, whilst in preparation for the
In July 2005, the G8 Summit endorsed the IPHE in its Plan of Action on Climate Change, Clean Energy and Sustainable Development, and identified it as a medium of cooperation and collaboration to develop clean energy technologies.
Annual summit
The
Criticism
One type of criticism is that members of G8 do not do enough to help global problems, due to strict patent policy and other issues related to globalization. In Unraveling Global Apartheid, political analyst Titus Alexander described the G7, as it was in 1996, as the 'cabinet' of global minority rule, with a coordinating role in world affairs.[42]
In 2012 The Heritage Foundation, an American conservative think tank, criticized the G8 for advocating food security without making room for economic freedom.[43]
Relevance
The G8's relevance has been subject to debate from 2008 onward.
Vladimir Putin did not attend the 2012 G8 summit at Camp David, causing Foreign Policy magazine to remark that the summit has generally outlived its usefulness as a viable international gathering of foreign leaders.[46] Two years later, Russia was suspended from the G8, then chose to leave permanently in January 2017.
The G20 major economies leaders' summit has had an increased level of international prestige and influence.[47] However, British Prime Minister David Cameron said of the G8 in 2012:[48]
Some people ask, does the G8 still matter, when we have a Group of 20? My answer is, yes. The G8 is a group of like-minded countries that share a belief in free enterprise as the best route to growth. As eight countries making up about half the world's gross domestic product, the standards we set, the commitments we make, and the steps we take can help solve vital
global issues, fire up economies and drive prosperity all over the world.
Youth 8 Summit
The Y8 Summit or simply Y8, formerly known as the G8 Youth Summit[49] is the youth counterpart to the G8 summit.[50] The summits were organized from 2006 to 2013. The first summit to use the name Y8 took place in May 2012 in Puebla, Mexico, alongside the Youth G8 that took place in Washington, D.C. the same year. From 2016 onwards, similar youth conferences were organized under the name Y7 Summit.[51]
The Y8 Summit brings together young leaders from G8 nations and the
The Y8 Summit was organized annually by a global network of youth-led organizations called The IDEA (The International Diplomatic Engagement Association).[55] The organizations undertake the selection processes for their respective national delegations, while the hosting country is responsible for organizing the summit. An example of such a youth-led organization is the Young European Leadership association, which recruits and sends EU Delegates.
The goal of the Y8 Summit is to bring together young people from around the world to allow the voices and opinions of young generations to be heard and to encourage them to take part in global decision-making processes.[56][57]
Summit | Year | Host country | Location | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1st | International Student Model G8 | 2006 | Russia | Saint Petersburg |
2nd | Model G8 Youth Summit | 2007 | Germany | Berlin |
3rd | Model G8 Youth Summit | 2008 | Japan | Yokohama |
4th | G8 Youth Summit | 2009 | Italy | Milan |
5th | G8 Youth Summit | 2010 | Canada | Muskoka & Toronto |
6th | G8 Youth Summit | 2011 | France | Paris |
** | Y8 Summit | 2012 | Mexico | Puebla
|
7th | G8 Youth Summit | 2012 | United States | Washington D.C.
|
8th | Y8 summit | 2013 | United Kingdom | London |
9th | Y8 summit | 2014 | Russia | Moscow* |
* The Y8 Summit 2014 in Moscow was suspended due to the suspension of Russia from the G8.
See also
- D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation
- Eight-Nation Alliance
- Forum for the Future (Bahrain 2005)
- G3 Free Trade Agreement
- G4 (EU)
- G-20 major economies
- Group of Two
- Group of Seven
- Group of Eleven
- Group of 15
- Group of 24
- Group of 30
- Junior 8
- List of countries by GDP (nominal)
- List of countries by military expenditures
- List of country groupings
- List of G8 leaders
- List of G8 summit resorts
- List of longest serving G8 leaders
- List of multilateral free-trade agreements
- North–South divide
- Western Bloc
- Great power
- World Social Forum
References
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- ^ a b "FDP's push to invite Putin to G7 sows discord within possible German coalition". Reuters. 12 October 2017.
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- ^ a b "Trump calls for Russia to be invited to G8". Financial Times. 8 June 2018. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022.
- ^ Until recently, the EU had the privileges and obligations of a membership that did not host or chair summits. It was represented by the Commission and Council presidents. "EU and the G8". European Commission. Archived from the original on 26 February 2007. Retrieved 25 September 2007.
- ^ "Officials: G-20 to supplant G-8 as international economic council". CNN. 25 September 2009. Retrieved 25 September 2009.
- ^ "G20 to replace the G8". SBS. 26 September 2009. Archived from the original on 27 September 2009. Retrieved 26 September 2009.
- ^ "Japan and the G20: Ambivalence and the China factor". 11 February 2011.
- ^ Medish, Mark (24 February 2006). "Russia — Odd Man Out in the G-8", The Globalist. Retrieved 7 December 2008. Archived 5 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Cash-strapped G8 looks to private sector in hunger fight". Reuters. 18 May 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
- ^ DoCampo, Isabel (15 March 2017). "A Food-Secure Future: G7 and G20 Action on Agriculture and Food". The Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
- ^ "L'Aquila Food Security Initiative | Tracking Support for the MDGS". iif.un.org. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
- ^ Tandon, Shaun (18 May 2012). "Obama turns to private sector to feed world's poor". Agence France-Presse. Archived from the original on 31 January 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
- ^ Patrick, Stewart M. (16 May 2012). "Why This Year's G8 Summit Matters". The Atlantic. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
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- ^ "Japan's Abe calls for Putin to be brought in from the cold". Financial Times. 17 January 2016.
- ^ "Italian Minister 'Hopes' For Russia's Return To G8". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 12 January 2017.
- ^ Tom Batchelor (13 January 2017). "Russia announces plan to permanently leave G8 group of industrialised nations after suspension for Crimea annexation". Independent.
- ^ "Wir brauchen auch Russland, um Probleme zu lösen". Deutschlandfunk (in German).
- ^ hermesauto (9 June 2018). "Russia brushes off possibility of G-8 return". The Straits Times.
- ^ Editorial, Reuters (9 June 2018). "The Charlevoix G7 Summit Communique". Reuters.
{{cite news}}
:|first=
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- ^ Chaya, Lynn. "Russia to form 'new G8' with Iran and China". NationalPost.com.
- ^ G8 Research Group. "What is the G8?". University of Toronto. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
{{cite web}}
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- ^ Miller, Terry (17 May 2012). "G8 Food Security Agenda Should Encourage Greater Privatisation". The Heritage Foundation. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
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Further reading
- Bayne, Nicholas and Robert D. Putnam. (2000). Hanging in There: The G7 and G8 Summit in Maturity and Renewal. Aldershot, Hampshire: OCLC 43186692
- Haas, P.M. (1992). "Introduction. Epistemic communities and international policy coordination," International Organization 46, 1:1–35.
- Hajnal, Peter I. (1999). The G8 system and the G20 : Evolution, Role and Documentation. Aldershot, Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing. OCLC 277231920
- Kokotsis, Eleonore. (1999). Keeping International Commitments: Compliance, Credibility, and the G7, 1988–1995. New York: Garland Publishing. OCLC 40460131
- Reinalda, Bob and Bertjan Verbeek. (1998). Autonomous Policy Making by International Organizations. London: OCLC 39013643
External links
- G8 Information Centre, G8 Research Group, University of Toronto
- "Special Report: G8", Guardian Unlimited
- "Profile: G8", BBC News
- "We are deeply concerned. Again", New Statesman, 4 July 2005, —G8 development concerns since 1977
- G8 Information Centre Finance Ministers Meetings
- "G8: Cooking the books won’t feed anyone", Oxfam International
- "Dear G8 Leaders, don’t lie about your aid", Oxfam Australia
- "Wait, the G-8 still exists?" Archived 27 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Foreign Policy Magazine
- "Is this the last G-8 summit meeting?" Archived 30 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Foreign Policy Magazine
- Chronique ONU | Le Conseil économique et social, Le Groupe des huit et le PARADOXE CONSTITUTIONNEL "The Group of Eight, ECOSOC and the Constitutional Paradox"
- No. of G8 Summit Protestors (1998–2015) Katapult-Magazin