G7 - European Union

Role of the G7

The G7, originally G8, originated in 1973 and was set up in 1975 as an informal forum bringing together the heads of government and ministers of the world’s leading industrial nations. The annual G7 summits have over the years developed into a platform for determining the course of multilateral discourse and shaping political responses to global challenges. It complements the role of the G20, which is widely regarded as the framework for ongoing global economic coordination.

In 1977, representatives of the then European Community began participating in the London summit. The role has expanded over time, with the EU gradually included in all political discussions on the summit agenda and, from the Ottawa summit (1981) onwards, has taken part in all working sessions.

The European Union is a unique supranational organisation – rather than a sovereign Member State – hence the name G7 “Group of Seven”. The EU is therefore a “non-enumerated” member and does not assume the rotating G7 presidency.

The summit gathers leaders from the European Union and the following countries:

• Canada
• France
• Germany
• Italy
• Japan
• the United Kingdom
• the United States.

It is capable of setting the global agenda because decisions taken by these major economic powers have a real impact. The political direction set by these leaders on a policy issue will have a “ripple” effect across many other international organisations and institutions.

Thus, decisions taken at the G7 are not legally binding, but exert strong political influence.

Focus on global food security

The systemic shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian aggression against Ukraine have escalated the challenges facing the global agri-food system. These add to the increasing long-term pressures on world food security, particularly due to climate change and its adverse weather effects, the degradation of natural resources such as land, water and biodiversity, as well as unsustainable population and food demand growth, particularly in vulnerable regions.

Recognising the severity of these challenges, multilateral fora such as the G7 have restored food security to the top of the international agenda. After a half-decade absence, G7 Agriculture Ministers had once again convened a working group under the German Presidency of 2022, with two dedicated Ministerial meetings taking place in March and May, respectively.

The EU strongly supports the permanent reinstatement of the G7 agriculture track, as a key forum for coordinating the policy efforts of advanced economies in response to both immediate urgencies as well as the long-term objectives of the sustainable transformation of agriculture.