The forthcoming G7 Summit

This year’s G7 summit will take place at the end of the week in Biarritz, France. President Macron, the host, has now decided that there will be no final communiqué at the end of the meeting. He said a communiqué takes a lot of the participants’ time to be approved and ends up by distracting them from the substantive discussions. In the end, the final text is bland and means little.

I agree with him. It is better to spend time on the issues and to make the event as informal as possible. It is a serious opportunity for exchanges among the leaders and it should be focused on that. Particularly at a time when we see significant differences of opinion about key matters. It would be unrealistic to try to get a consensus during the summit. But it is not unrealistic to debate them and make one’s points known to the rest of the group.

I also appreciate the fact that the UN Secretary-General has been invited to address the meeting and be around for the discussions. His authority must be re-established. President Macron understands this point.

Still on who should be in the room, I am against inviting back President Vladimir Putin. The Russian role in the Ukrainian issue is not resolved. And democracy is deteriorating in Russia, under the direct supervision of the President. Those are two strong arguments to keep Putin out. G7 meetings are not for dictators and autocratic leaders. They have their seat in the G20. Moreover, they can be engaged through other mechanisms, and there are plenty of them.  

Davos 2015

Davos 2015 is again attracting a very high number of key personalities. The World Economic Forum is unquestionably the most significant summit of true decision-makers: it attracts people with real power and in a critical variety of sectors. It is also a major opportunity for networking and for future deals. 

G8 and GZero

On the eve of this year’s G8 meeting, Syria remains the key issue. It is also a complex and divisive matter, not just because of the different approaches Russia and the West are following but also on the question of arms for the opposition. The meeting will come and go and unfortunately we will see no progress, no agreement on a political roadmap for this deeply tragic crisis. It is indeed easier to talk about weapons than to device a peace process.