G8 summit outcomes

Government Spokesperson ,Minister for the Budget, Public Accounts, the Civil Service and State Reform

THE G8, A FORUM FOR INFORMAL DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE WORLD’S PRINCIPAL LEADERS

• Formed at the initiative of France in 1975 to address the first oil crisis, the G8 is a group for informal discussion between the Heads of State and Government of the most industrialised countries. The members of the G8 (United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy and Russia) account for 15% of the world’s population, 65% of global GDP and two-thirds of international trade.
• The G8, which meets once annually and is chaired each year by one of its members, is a forum that supplements the G20, acting essentially as a source of impetus and political guidance. It is not an international institution as such and has no permanent secretariat ; it allows the world’s principal leaders to discuss directly and informally the major challenges of globalisation : economics, peace and security, international trade, development, the environment, and so on.
  
  A “NEW G8” UNDER FRENCH PRESIDENCY
  
  
• Like the G20, which has evolved since the crisis to become the new global forum for economic cooperation, the role of the G8 is also changing. For its presidency in 2011 (the sixth time France has held the presidency since the formation of the G8), France has proposed to refocus this “new G8” on strategic issues : solidarity with Japan and stronger commitments on nuclear safety ; the Internet ; support for the democratic transition initiated by the Arab spring ; a renewed partnership with Africa.
• The Deauville Summit, held on Thursday 26 May and Friday 27 May, took place under the auspices not only of freedom and democracy but also solidarity and protection.
  
  THE G8 IN DEAUVILLE, RENEWED IMPETUS FOR FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY
  
  
• Because the G8 has a duty to take the full measure of the historical movement that has occurred recently in the Middle East and North Africa, we have reaffirmed our support for the Arab spring and democratic reform around the world :
  • The Prime Ministers of Egypt (Mr Charaf) and Tunisia (Mr Essebsi) were invited to Deauville in order toshow in a concrete manner that we stand alongside the countries that are aspiring to democracy in the region of the Middle East and North Africa.
  • At the instigation of the President of the French Republic, the members of the G8 have committed, within the framework of the “Deauville Partnership”, to helping the Arab countries in their transition to free and democratic societies. A package of approximately USD 40 billion has been offered to Egypt and Tunisia (USD 20 billion from the multilateral development banks other than the IMF ; approximately USD 10 billion from the G8 countries, and USD 10 billion from the Gulf States). France has already announced that its contribution will be €1 billion for Egypt and Tunisia over the period to 2013. This aid will target economic recovery, the creation of conditions for more equitable growth, professional training and access to employment.
  • The G8 also wished to send out a strong signal by inviting the three African Presidents newly elected following a democratic process (Mr Ouattara in Côte d’Ivoire, Mr Condé in Guinea and Mr Issoufou in Niger).
• Our commitment to freedom and democracy has also been expressed in our desire to put the question of the Internet on the Summit’s agenda. Following the Egyptian and Tunisian revolutions, it is no longer possible to deny that the Internet has become an unprecedently powerful vector for the freedom of expression !
  • This is the first time that the Heads of State and Government have addressed this topic in all its aspects : economic, social, legal, etc. Despite the fact that the Internet has been radically changing our economies and transforming our societies for more than a decade now, it had never been fully a subject of discussion between our political leaders !
  • Following on from the “e-G8” Forum held on Tuesday 24 May and Wednesday 25 May with all the major global Internet figures in attendance (among them Mark Zuckerberg from Facebook and Eric Schmidt from Google), we have adopted a balanced declaration that reconciles the Internet’s openness, freedom and transparency with respect for the rule of law, including fundamental principles such as intellectual property.
    
    THE G8 IN DEAUVILLE, A SUMMIT OF SOLIDARITY AND PROTECTION
    
    
• If Deauville was a Summit for freedom and democracy, it was also a Summit for solidarity and protection.
• Solidarity was reflected firstly in the joint declaration by the G8 and the NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa’s Development) countries, which refounds our partnership on two straightforward notions : shared values, and shared responsibilities.
  • Shared values : democracy, human rights and peace must be at the heart of our partnership. The G8 wished to send out a strong signal by inviting the three newly elected African Presidents. Proof indeed that democracy is not in retreat in Africa !
  • Shared responsibilities, based on mutual accountability. Last year the G8 published for the first time an accountability report on its commitments on development ; this year, the Africans, as they had undertaken to do, published an accountability report on their own commitments. In addition, the essential drivers for Africa’s economic development were discussed : development of the private sector, good governance, combating corruption, regional integration and innovative financing.
• Solidarity was also reflected in a message of support for Japan following the Fukushima nuclear accident. Looking beyond the courage and dignity of the Japanese people in this testing time, which the G8 wished to salute, it was the duty of the Heads of State and Government to draw the lessons to be learned from this tragedy by strengthening the commitments of the G8 in the area of nuclear safety :
  • In the lead-up to the General Conference of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) on 20 June next in Vienna, France will be holding a ministerial meeting in Paris on this topic on 7-8 June, in order to broaden the G8 consensus to include the other major nations with civilian nuclear industries.
  • Because the consequences of nuclear disasters know no national borders, we have also decided to extend our cooperation, which will involve a tightening of safety standards and existing international conventions.
• And lastly, the countries of the G8 have decided to intensify their cooperation, looking to the Durban Conference on Climate Change next December, which is intended to implement the Copenhagen and Cancun accords. The G8, which has always played a driving role in the combat against climate change, has offered to cooperate with the South African chair of the next United Nations Conference and has decided to keep in mind the objective of a legally binding global agreement on the reduction of CO2 emissions.