37th G8 summit

2011 international leaders meeting

The 37th G8 summit was held 26–27 May 2011 in the commune of Deauville in France.[1]

Traditional "family photo" at the G8 summit meeting in Deauville

History

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The Deauville summit of the Group of Eight (G8) was the 37th meeting in a series which began in 1976.

Previous G8 summits have been hosted by France at Rambouillet (1975); Versailles (1982); Paris (1989); Lyon (1996); and Évian-les-Bains (2003).[2]

The G8 and the summit are part of a consultation process. The G8 is not an international organization.[3] It is an informal group.[4]

Participants

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G8 leaders walk to the first working session at summit in Deauville. Pictured, from left are: European Commission President Barroso; US President Obama; French President Sarkozy; Canadian Prime Minister Harper; Japanese Prime Minister Kan; German Chancellor Merkel; and British Prime Minister Cameron.

These summit participants were the current "core members" of the G8:[5]

Core G8 members
Host nation and leader are indicated in bold text.
Member Represented by Title
  Canada Stephen Harper[6] Prime Minister
  France Nicolas Sarkozy[7] President
  Germany Angela Merkel[8] Chancellor
  Italy Silvio Berlusconi[9] Prime Minister
  Japan Naoto Kan[6] Prime Minister
  Russia Dmitry Medvedev[7] President
  United Kingdom David Cameron[7] Prime Minister
  United States Barack Obama[7] President
  European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso[7] President
European Council Herman Van Rompuy[10] President

Invited leaders

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Other national leaders are traditionally invited to attend the summit.[2] They participate in some, but not all, G8 summit activities. African leaders who came to Deauville included:

Also invited were:

Schedule and Agenda

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Traditionally, the host country of the G8 summit sets the agenda. French general priorities included peace and security.[15]

Discussions included some issues which remained unresolved from previous summits.[16]

Some of the specific topics on the agenda were:

  • Afghanistan;[17]
  • G8 + Broader Middle East and North Africa (BMENA);[18]
  • The Internet: new challenges[19]
  • Non-proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction[20]
  • The G8's Partnership with Africa[21]
  • Transatlantic Cocaine Trafficking[22]
  • Counter-terrorism[23]
  • G8 political and security issues[24]

World events caused the list of topics to grow, including

Protesters and demonstrations

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Front banner of the anti-G8 demonstration in Le Havre prior to the G8 summit, featuring the "G8 dégage" theme.

Protest groups and others organized public events.[28] In these demonstrations, the slogan G8 dégage ("G8 Go Away") was notable.[29]

The demonstrators are widely understood to be against globalisation.[29]

Business opportunity

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According to the Mayor of Deauville, "Our main interest is the economic implications."[30]

For some, the G8 summit became a profit-generating event. For example, the G8 Summit magazines have been published under the auspices of the host nations for distribution to all attendees since 1998.[31]

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References

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  1. Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), "G8 Summit 2011 in Deauville"; retrieved 2012-5-21.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 G20/G8 France 2011, What is G8? ("Previous summits" section) Archived 2012-03-19 at the Wayback Machine; retrieved 2012-5-21
  3. G20-G8 France 2011, What is G8? ("Language" section) Archived 2012-03-19 at the Wayback Machine; retrieved 2012-5-21.
  4. US Dept. of State, G8 Frequently Asked Questions ("How does the G8 work?" section); retrieved 2012-5-21.
  5. Rieffel, Lex. "Regional Voices in Global Governance: Looking to 2010 (Part IV)," Archived 2010-06-03 at the Wayback Machine Brookings (US). 27 March 2009; retrieved 13 February 2011
  6. 6.0 6.1 "G8 highlights euro debt risk to world economy," Independent (UK). May 26, 2011; retrieved 2011-05-26.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 Wintour, Patrick. "G8 summit: UK offers Egypt and Tunisia £110m to Boost Democracy,: Guardian (UK). 26 May 2011; retrieved 2011-05-26.
  8. Brost, Marc and Jörg Lau. "Ab in die Ecke," Die Zeit (Germany). 26 Mai 2011; retrieved 2011-05-26
  9. "Deauville, Berlusconi a Obama: da noi dittatura dei giudici di sinistra," Corriere della Sera (Italy). 27 May 2011; retrieved 2011-05-27
  10. Tang Danlu. "EU leaders meet press before G8 summit," Xinhua (PRC). 27 May 2011; retrieved 2011-05-27
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 "AU demands end to NATO Libya strikes," Archived 2012-03-18 at the Wayback Machine Agence France Presse (AFP), 26 May 2011; retrieved 2011-05-26
  12. Bejot, Jean-Pierre. "Les bons élèves de la « démocratie » africaine invités au bord de la mer par Nicolas Sarkozy," La Dépêche Diplomatique Afrique (Senegal). 25 May 2011; retrieved 2011-05-27
  13. MacCormaic, Ruadhán. "G8 summit set to approve aid package for Tunisia and Egypt," Irish Times (Eire). 26 May 2011; retrieved 2011-05-27
  14. Babalola, Jide. "Ki-Moon in Nigeria to push health campaign," Archived 2011-05-27 at the Wayback Machine The Nation (Nigeria). 23 May 2011; 2011-05-27
  15. G20/G8 France 2011, "The priorities of the French Presidency" Archived 2012-06-14 at the Wayback Machine
  16. Kaur, Hardev. "G20 leaders must deliver on their promises," The New Straits Times (Malaysia). 20 February 2009.
  17. G20/G8 France 2011, Afghanistan Archived 2012-03-19 at the Wayback Machine; retrieved 13 February 2011
  18. Karabell, Zachary. "On the Heels of Revolution, Economic Realities Arrive," New York Times (US). May 25, 2011; G20/G8 France 2011, "G8 + BMENA" Archived 2012-03-19 at the Wayback Machine; retrieved 13 February 2011
  19. G20/G8 France 2011, Internet challenges Archived 2012-03-19 at the Wayback Machine; retrieved 13 February 2011
  20. G20/G8 France 2011,Non-proliferation/WMDs; retrieved 13 February 2011
  21. G20/G8 France 2011, G8 + Partnership with Africa; retrieved 13 February 2011
  22. G20/G8 France 2011, Cocaine trafficking Archived 2012-03-19 at the Wayback Machine; retrieved 13 February 2011
  23. G20/G8 France 2011, Counter-terrorism Archived 2012-03-19 at the Wayback Machine; retrieved 13 February 2011
  24. G20/G8 France 2011,Political and security issues Archived 2012-03-19 at the Wayback Machine; retrieved 13 February 2011
  25. Jessop-Kolesnikov, Sonia. "As G-8 Meets, Asian Leaders Seek a Bigger Role," New York Times (US). May 25, 2011; retrieved 2011-05-26.
  26. Erlanger, Steven and Liz Alderman. "Euro Crisis Looms for Group of 8," New York Times (US). May 25, 2011; retrieved 2011-05-26.
  27. MacCormaic, Ruadhán. "G8 summit set to approve aid package for Tunisia and Egypt," Irish Times
  28. Crispian Balmer and Kevin Liffey. "Q+A: Election defeat poses problems for Sarkozy," Reuters (UK). 21 March 2010; retrieved 13 February 2011
  29. 29.0 29.1 Haddadi, Anissa. "Obama in Deauville tomorrow: Farewell to the UK and Hello anti G8 Protesters," Archived 2013-01-26 at Archive.today International Business Times (UK). 25 May 2011; retrieved 2011-05-27
  30. Schuetze, "A French Town"; retrieved 2011-05-26
  31. Prestige Media: Archived 2009-05-19 at the Wayback Machine "official" G8 Summit magazine Archived 2009-05-18 at the Wayback Machine; retrieved 13 February 2011

Other websites

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  Media related to 37th G8 summit at Wikimedia Commons


Preceded by
36th G8 summit
37th G8 summit
Deauville

2011
Succeeded by
38th G8 summit