Participants are expected to include leaders of the G7 member states plus representatives of the European Union. The President of the European Commission has been a permanent participant at all meetings since 1981. The President of the European Council has been the EU's co-representative since the 36th G8 summit hosted by Canada in 2010.
In March 2014, the G7 declared that a meaningful discussion was currently not possible with Russia in the context of the G8.[2] Since then meetings have continued within the G7 process. Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron were reported to have agreed that Russia should be invited to the G7 Summit in 2020,[3] but Britain and Canada threatened to veto such a proposal if the US and France went ahead. The 2020 summit was ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, has invited leaders from India, South Korea and Australia.[4] Australia has welcomed the official invitation and it has been suggested that Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison may discuss Facebook and digital content regulation, as he had done at the 2019 G7 Meeting and G20 summit.[5][6] South Korean President Moon Jae-in accepted the invitation and extended an invitation to Johnson to attend the Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G Summit) in May 2021, which Johnson accepted.[7] Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also accepted the invitation.[8] It has been suggested that Boris Johnson is attempting to expand the G7 group, a meeting forum for the world's leading economies, to create the D10, a forum for the world's ten leading democracies.[9][10][11]
The 47th G7 Summit is the first summit for Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, and U.S. President Joe Biden. It is likely to be the last summit attended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel as she is not seeking re-election in the German federal election currently due to be held in September 2021.[1
Expected topics of discussion include developing a response to the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pledged to call for the G7 to work on a global approach to pandemics to ensure an equal global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines and to prevent future pandemics.[15] He has proposed a five-point plan to prevent future pandemics, which includes a worldwide network of zoonotic research hubs, developing global manufacturing capacity for treatments and vaccines, the design of a global early warning system, the agreement of global protocols for a future health emergency and the reduction of trade barriers.[16] Johnson is also expected to focus on climate change, a top priority for the United Kingdom ahead of the COP26 conference it is due to host in November 2021.[15] UK Secretary for Business Kwasi Kwarteng has indicated that Johnson will be seeking coordinate action on carbon border taxes, green finance, the phase-out of coal and helping poorer countries to step up climate action.[17] While the taxes have been backed by the EU and US, EU climate ambassador Mark Vanhuekelen indicated that Australia may oppose the measures.[18]
Another expected topic of discussion is international co-ordination on economic policies.[19][20] United States Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen has signaled a revival in American multilateralism, focusing on the need for continued economic support.[21] Other finance ministers, including Italian economy minister Daniele Franco, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and UK chancellor Rishi Sunak have similarly called for close economic co-ordination on recovery plans and economic policies.[21] Negotiations over reforming the corporate taxation of multinationals is also expected, with the United States agreeing to a deadline of the summer to make progress on the issue after threatening to impose tariffs on European countries in retaliation for their new digital sales tax.[21][22] The United States is also reviewing a plan for the IMF to allocate up to £500bn in special drawing rights to its members, which has been widely endorsed by other countries but was previously blocked by the US.[21][22]
G7 finance officials have also supported the need to regulate digital currencies.[23] German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz issued a statement about his concerns of authorizing the launch of Facebook's Diem (formerly Libra) cryptocurrency in Europe.[23]
Boris Johnson and Joe Biden will aim to 'unlock' travel restrictions between UK and amber-list US at G7 summit.[24]
The cost of policing the summit has been estimated to be £70 million.[25]
