What is on the agenda at the G7 and Nato summits?

Boris Johnson will join world leaders at the gatherings in Germany and Spain over the coming days.
A general view of the Schloss Elmau hotel which is the venue for the G-7 summit near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, southern Germany (Andrew Woodcock/PA)
PA Archive
David Hughes25 June 2022

Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine will dominate the agenda at two key meetings of world leaders taking place in the coming days.

Boris Johnson will join counterparts including US President Joe Biden, France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Olaf Scholz at the G7 and Nato summits in the coming days.

– What is the G7?

The Group of Seven industrialised democracies are the UK, US, Canada, Japan, France, Germany and Italy, with the European Union also represented at the talks.

The G7 summit is being held in Schloss Elmau, a luxury hotel in the German Alps from Sunday to Tuesday.

– What’s on the agenda?

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky will address the leaders remotely, and the G7 leaders will consider the response to the war and its impact on the global economy and food supplies.

But Germany, which holds the rotating G7 presidency, hopes the group’s talks will not be limited to the crisis in eastern Europe.

Mr Scholz said the war must not lead the G7 to “neglect our responsibility for global challenges such as the climate crisis and the pandemic”.

He warned that if the G7 democracies do not support poorer countries “powers like Russia and China will take advantage”.

As well as the permanent G7 members, the leaders of Argentina, India, Indonesia, Senegal and South Africa have been invited as guests.

– What’s the Prime Minister’s aim?

He wants to ensure the G7 is behind president Zelensky and that the group steps up measures to isolate Mr Putin.

That could mean showing support for Ukraine’s aim of driving Russia out of the territory it has occupied since February’s invasion and imposing further sanctions to weaken the Kremlin regime.

– What about Nato?

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s role in guaranteeing security in Europe is facing its biggest test since the Cold War due to concerns that Mr Putin’s territorial ambitions may not be limited to Ukraine.

The Prime Minister wants allies to agree to a new phase in military, political and financial support for Ukraine.

Mr Zelensky is also set to address the Nato summit in Madrid.

Mr Johnson also wants more defence spending in the alliance, with the commitment to spend 2% of gross domestic product being treated as a floor, rather than a ceiling.

– What else is on the agenda?

Finland and Sweden have applied for Nato membership, and the guarantee of mutual protection it brings, in response to Russia’s actions.

Mr Johnson supports the Nordic countries joining, but there has been resistance from Turkey, citing their support for Kurdish separatist groups.

– Is Russia the only country Nato is worried about?

No, the growth of China as a military, political and economic power also concerns the Western alliance.

Secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said: “For the first time, we will address China and the challenges it poses to our interests, security and values.”

Both Moscow and Beijing are “openly contesting the rules-based international order”, he said ahead of the Madrid summit.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in