Germany in the G7 presidency this year – What are the goals of Olaf Solz?

Germany has held the G7 presidency of the top democratic economic powers for a year, according to Spiegel.

The highlight will be a summit led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) from 26 to 28 June 2022 at Elmau Castle in the Bavarian Alps.

The focus will be on climate protection, the fight against pandemics and the strengthening of international cooperation and democracies worldwide.

“We will use our presidency to make this group of leaders a pioneer. A pioneer for climate-neutral businesses and a fair world,” Chancellor Scholz said in his New Year’s address.

“International cooperation is important. In a world that will soon have tens of billions of inhabitants, our voices will only be heard if we play in a choir with many others.”

Germany takes over the presidency from Great Britain. The “Group of Seven” also includes the USA, France, Italy, Japan and Canada.

The Western Industrialized Group was founded in 1975 by then-Federal Chancellor Helmut Schmidt and French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing during a global financial crisis, initially known as the G6, which later became the G7 with Canada a year later. Russia was admitted in 1998, but was excluded again in 2014 due to the occupation of Ukrainian Crimea.

Russia’s return to the group is not visible. The G7 is now trying to distinguish itself as a group of states defending Western values ​​in systems competition with countries such as China and Russia.

As a result, Britain invited countries such as India, South Korea, South Africa and Australia to the 2021 summit. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) said in an interview with dpa that she wanted countries present in two scheduled meetings of foreign ministers “supporting economic development with common values ​​such as freedom and the rule of law”.

In one meeting they could be African countries, in the other they could be countries from the Pacific region. “Act before it’s too late”, Baerbock wants to make one of the main messages of the G7 year.

The exact program is set to be announced later, but the location of the summit was announced shortly after the new government took office: As in 2015, it will be Schloss Elmau near Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

Chancellor Scholz will then host such an important international meeting for the first time. But he has already gained top experience – not just positives. At the last major summit under the German presidency, the G20 summit in Hamburg in 2017, he was the first mayor of the city of Hanseatic to be responsible for preparing for the summit and for security. The meeting was overshadowed by mass riots with significant damage in central Hamburg.

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Source From: Capital

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