International summits and forums such as the G7, the G8 or the G20 (acronyms which indicate political and economic groupings of representatives of various countries around the world) are informal meetings in which several countries come together to collaboratively and shared tackle the main global challenges, from climate change to energy challenges, from social inequalities to problems related to ongoing wars. This year Italy holds the presidency of the G7 for the seventh time in history, while the G20 in Rio de Janeiro, which interacted with COP29 held in Baku. But what are they exactly the G20? And the G7 and G8? When they are bornwhich Villages involve and what theirs are main objectives?
What is the G7
The G7 is the abbreviated form of Group of 7which brings together the Heads of State and Government of the 7 most industrialized nations of the world: Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States. The group was born in 1975initially with 6 participants, during a summit that took place in France, in Rambouillet castle. The missing country was the Canada who joined in 1976, giving life to the so-called G7.
The first informal meeting of the summit was organized by French President V. Giscard d’Estaing, following the oil shock of 1973 which had thrown the global economy into crisis, to seek a common line in the face offinancial instability and global economy. In the 1997 also the Russia joined the group, creating the so-called G8which was suspended in 2014 after the invasion of Crimea.
Since 1975, therefore, every year the Heads of State and Government of the 7 member countries have met to jointly discuss economic and security issues, but also of collective interest such as climate change or energy issues. International financial institutions and representatives of theEuropean Uniontogether with some non-G7 developing countries.
TO rotation among the member countries, one country holds the presidency of the G7 with one annual duration: Rotation occurs in the order United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Italy, Canada, France. In 2024 it is theItaly to hold the presidency: the role of the presidency is to propose the priority of the group and the lines to follow, as well as organizing and coordinating meetings and activities between member countries.
Summits and meetings between G7 members are prepared by the so-called “sherpa”, that is, by the political representatives of the heads of state and government. The name comes from Tibetan “shar-pa” or “Man of the East” and refers to some indigenous ethnic groups who play the role of high altitude guides on the peaks of the Himalayas: the “Sherpa” in the G7 and other international summits are instead those who deal with the entire preparatory and organizational phase prior to the meetings of heads of state and government.
What is the G8 and which countries are part of it
In the 1998 the G7 became G8 al Birmingham summitduring which the Russia formally joined the group, due to its global political weight. The G8 lasted until 2013: in fact, in March 2014, following the events linked to the invasion of Crimea on the part of Russia, the G8 activities and meetings have taken place interrupted. Member countries initially considered whether to expel Russia or only suspend its participation and related activities. The June 2014 summit was in fact held in Brussels, without Russia and was exceptionally chaired by the European Union.
One of the most sadly known G8s in Italy was the one held in Genoa from the 19 to 22 July 2001during which numerous demonstrations were held anti-global movements and associations pacifists, which resulted in clashes between the police and demonstrators: during one of these clashes the protester Carlo Giuliani he was killed by Carabiniere Mario Placanica. This, together with the police raid on a school, the A. Diaz school, resulting in the beating of activists, students and journalists, caused the Italian State to become involved in a crime due to the abuses committed by the police process in civil and criminal matters. In April 2015a sentence of the European Court of Human Rights with reference to what happened in the Diaz school, he declared that Italy had violated theart. 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)on the prohibition of torture and other inhuman and degrading treatments.
What does G20 mean
The Group of 20 was born on September 25, 1999 in Washington, as an enlargement of the G7. In fact, following numerous financial crises which had particularly shocked some countries in Latin America and Asia between 1997 and 1998, the Group of 7 realized the need for a major involvement of the so-called countries BRICS (and not only) to create a forum for dialogue and cooperation between the most industrialized economies and the countries considered developing.
The following member countries currently belong to it: Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, South Korea, France, Germany, Japan, India, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, United Kingdom, Russia, United States, South Africa, Turkey and the European Union. These countries together represent more than80% of GDP world. The representatives in the past were the Finance Ministers of the member countries and the governors of the central banks but currently also include the heads of state and government of member countries, who meet once a year in a international summitas well as numerous meetings and ministerial meetings throughout the year.
Even in the G20, as in the G7 or G8, there is a system of rotation regarding the country that holds the Presidency and who sets the agenda and priorities of the group. The country that holds the Presidency is assisted and supported by the country that held the Presidency the previous year and by the country that will hold it the following year, to give continuity to the actions of the Group’s member countries.
