French President Nicolas Sarkozy was the host of the 37th G8 summit in Deauville, France.
The Group of Six (G6) was an unofficial forum which brought together the heads of the richest industrialized countries: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States starting in 1976. The Group of Seven (G7), meeting for the first time in 1979, was formed with the addition of Canada. Hence, The Group of Eight (G8), meeting for the first time in 1997, was formed with the addition of Russia.[3] In addition, the President of the European Commission has been formally included in summits since 1981.[4] The summits were not meant to be linked formally with wider international institutions; and in fact, a mild rebellion against the stiff formality of other international meetings was a part of the genesis of cooperation between France's president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and West Germany's chancellor Helmut Schmidt as they conceived the initial summit of the Group of Six (G6) in 1975.[5]
The G8 summits have inspired widespread debates, protests and demonstrations; and the two- or three-day event becomes more than the sum of its parts, elevating the participants, the issues and the venue as focal points for activist pressure.[6]
The form and functions of the G8 were reevaluated as the G20summits evolved into the premier forum for discussing, planning and monitoring international economic cooperation.[7] The "new G8" is refocusing on the subjects of common interest to the G8 countries, including geopolitical and security issues.[2]
The forum continues to be in a process of transformation.[8]
Leaders at the summit
The G8 is an unofficial annual forum for the leaders of Canada, the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.[4]
G8 leaders walking to the first working session at summit in Deauville. Left to right: European Commission President José Manuel Barroso; US President Barack Obama; French President Nicolas Sarkozy; Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper; Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan; German Chancellor Angela Merkel; and British Prime Minister David CameronTraditional "family photo" at the G8 summit meeting in Deauville
Traditionally, the host country of the G8 summit sets the agenda for negotiations, but world events caused the list of topics to expand, including such issues such as the Fukushima nuclear accident,[20] the European sovereign debt crisis,[21] the conflict in Libya, Iran's nuclear programme, Syria's crackdown on pro-democracy protests, and the selection of a new managing director for the International Monetary Fund.[22]
Issues
The summit is a venue for resolving differences among its members. As a practical matter, the summit was also conceived as an opportunity for its members to give each other mutual encouragement in the face of difficult economic decisions.[5] The G8 has become a forum for political and strategic discussions, and as a caucus within the G20.[23]
Schedule and Agenda
The agenda for the summit included some issues which remained unresolved from previous summits.[24] French general priorities included:
New common challenges: the Internet, innovation, green growth and a sustainable economy, and nuclear safety[25]
The 'Arab Springs': a partnership for democracy[25]
Strengthening the partnership with Africa: a long-term vision[25]
Peace and security: traditional themes of the G8[25]
Citizens' responses and authorities' counter-responses
Front banner of the anti-G8 demonstration in Le Havre prior to the G8 summit, featuring the "G8 dégage" theme
Protest groups and other activists were expected to make a showing at the summit.[34] The sloganG8 dégage ("G8 Go Away") was a recurring element of the demonstrations.[35]
Protesters expressed their concerns about capitalism and what they perceive as the imperialism of western liberal democracies. The demonstrators are widely understood to be against globalisation.[35]
Accomplishments
This annual gathering of international leaders is an international event which is observed and reported by news media; and the G8's relevance and accomplishments are continuing topics of discussion.[36] The event brings leaders together not so they can dream up quick fixes, but to talk and think about them together.[37]
The 2011 summit meeting was marked by what the G8 called the "Deauville Partnership" with the people of North Africa.[38] As a start, $20 billion were pledged in support for Tunisian and Egyptian reforms due to the Arab Spring.[39]
Security planning was designed to ensure that the summit's formal agenda can remain the primary focus of the attendees' discussions;[40] but effectively this meant converting the seaside resort into a fortress for the G8.[41]
Budget
In 2010, Sarkozy projected that the summits in Deauville and Cannes would cost "ten times less" than the preceding Canadian summits.[42]
Business opportunity
For some, the G8 summit became a profit-generating event. For example, the G8 Summit magazines have been published under the auspices of the host nations for distribution to all attendees since 1998.[43]
According to the Mayor of Deauville, "Our main interest is the economic implications."[44]
^Présidence française du G20 et du G8, Dossier de presse,p. 27Archived 2011-02-14 at the Wayback Machine; excerpt, Le sommet du G8 aura lieu les 26 et 27 mai à Deauville (The G8 summit will take place on May, 26th and 27th in Deauville); "Le prochain G20 aura lieu à Cannes,"Le point (France). 12 November 2010; retrieved 13 February 2011
^Congressional Record Service, R40977: Nelson, Rebecca M. "Implications of the transition from G-7 to G20," pp. 22-26.The G-20 and International Economic Cooperation: Background and Implications for Congress, 9 December 2009; retrieved 13 February 2011
^Jessop-Kolesnikov, "As G-8 Meets"; excerpt, According to Tommy Koh of Singapore, "the 2008 global financial crisis showed that a body that more accurately reflected the weight of emerging economies was needed to help steer the world out of that crisis .... G-20 has thus supplanted the G-8 as the main body for global financial and economic cooperation [and] the G-8 still remains as a forum for political and strategic discussions, and as a caucus within the G-20"; retrieved 2011-05-26
^Kaur, Hardev. "G20 leaders must deliver on their promises," The New Straits Times (Malaysia). 20 February 2009.
^The President of Nigeria was invited, but Goodluck Jonathan decided not to attend at the last minute. He worried that volcanic ash from an eruption in Iceland might delay his return flight to Nigeria; and this could disrupt his planned inauguration ceremonies on May 29.[19]
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