Group of Eight

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from G8)
Jump to: navigation, search
Not to be confused with G7 (finance ministers).
"Group of Six" and "G8" redirect here. For other uses, see G6 (disambiguation) and G8 (disambiguation).
Group of Eight
Map of G8 member nations and the European Union
 United Kingdom
Prime Minister Theresa May
 Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
 France
President François Hollande
 Germany
Chancellor Angela Merkel
 Italy
Prime Minister Matteo Renzi
 Japan
Prime Minister Shinzō Abe
 Russia (suspended)
President Vladimir Putin
 United States
President Barack Obama
 European Union
Council President Donald Tusk
Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker

The G7 (from 1998 until 2014, G8 due to Russia's participation)[1][2][3][4] is an inter-governmental political forum of the world′s major highly developed economies in countries that view themselves as democracies.[5] Collectively, in 2012 the G8 nations comprised 50.1 percent of 2012 global nominal GDP and 40.9 percent of global GDP (PPP).

The forum originated with a 1975 summit hosted by France that brought together representatives of six governments: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, thus leading to the name Group of Six or G6. The summit came to be known as the Group of Seven, or G7, in 1976 with the addition of Canada. Russia was added to the political forum from 1997, which the following year became known as the G8; Russia was, however, suspended in March 2014 following the annexation of Crimea.[6][7][8] The European Union is represented at the G8 since the 1980s as a "nonenumerated" participant, but originally could not host or chair summits.[9] The 40th summit was the first time the European Union was able to host and chair a summit.

"G7" can refer to the member states in aggregate or to the annual summit meeting of the G7 heads of government. The former term, G6, is now frequently applied to the six most populous countries within the European Union. G7 ministers also meet throughout the year, such as the G7 finance ministers (who meet four times a year), G7 foreign ministers, or G7 environment ministers.

Each calendar year the responsibility of hosting the G8 is rotated through the member states in the following order: France, United States, United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Canada. The holder of the presidency sets the agenda, hosts the summit for that year, and determines which ministerial meetings will take place.

In 2005, the UK government initiated the practice of inviting five leading emerging markets — Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and South Africa — to participate in the G8 meetings that came to be known as G8+5; but this practice was short-lived as it was viewed by those states as patronising and insulting.[5] With the G-20 major economies growing in stature since the 2008 Washington summit, world leaders from the group announced at their Pittsburgh summit in September 2009 that the group would replace the G8 as the main economic council of wealthy nations.[10][11] Nevertheless, the G7/G8 retains its relevance as a "steering group for the West",[5] and special significance for Japan.[12]

History[edit]

At the 34th G8 Summit at Toyako, Hokkaido, formal photo during Tanabata matsuri event for world leaders—Silvio Berlusconi (Italy), Dmitry Medvedev (Russia), Angela Merkel (Germany), Gordon Brown (UK), Yasuo Fukuda (Japan), George W. Bush (U.S.), Stephen Harper (Canada), Nicolas Sarkozy (France), José Manuel Barroso (EU)—July 7, 2008.

The concept of a forum for the world's major industrialized countries emerged prior to the 1973 oil crisis. On Sunday, March 25, 1973, the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, George Shultz, convened an informal gathering of finance ministers from West Germany (Helmut Schmidt), France (Valéry Giscard d'Estaing), and Britain (Anthony Barber) before an upcoming meeting in Washington, D.C. When running the idea past President Nixon, he noted that he would be out of town and offered use of the White House; the meeting was subsequently held in the library on the ground floor.[13] Taking their name from the setting, this original group of four became known as the "Library Group".[14] In mid-1973, at the World Bank-IMF meetings, Shultz proposed the addition of Japan to the original four nations, who agreed.[15] The informal gathering of senior financial officials from the United States, the United Kingdom, West Germany, Japan, and France became known as the "Group of Five."[16] During 1974 the heads of state or government of the top 10 industrial nations fell due to illness or scandal: There were two elections in the UK, three chancellors of West Germany, three presidents of France, three prime ministers of Japan and Italy, and two U.S. presidents; moreover, Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau was forced into an early election. Of the members of the Group of Five, all were new to the job with the exception of Pierre Trudeau.

As 1975 dawned, Schmidt and Giscard d'Estaing were heads of government in their respective countries, and since they both spoke fluent English, it occurred to them that they, and British Prime Minister Harold Wilson and U.S. President Gerald Ford could get together in an informal retreat and discuss election results and the issues of the day. In late spring, Giscard invited the heads of government from West Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States to a summit in Château de Rambouillet; the annual meeting of the six leaders was organized under a rotating presidency, forming the Group of Six (G6). In 1976, with Wilson out as prime minister of Britain, Schmidt and Gerald Ford felt an English speaker with more experience was needed, so Canada's Pierre Trudeau was invited to join the group [17] and the group became the Group of Seven (G7). Since first invited by the United Kingdom in 1977 the European Union has been represented by the president of the European Commission, and the leader of the country that holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union[18] and the Council President now also regularly attends.

Until the 1985 Plaza Accord no one outside a tight official circle knew when the seven finance ministers met and what they agreed. The summit was announced the day before and a communiqué was issued afterwards.[19]

Following 1994's G7 summit in Naples, Russian officials held separate meetings with leaders of the G7 after the group's summits. This informal arrangement was dubbed the Political 8 (P8)—or, colloquially, the G7+1. At the invitation of UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.S. President Bill Clinton,[20] President Boris Yeltsin was invited first as a guest observer, later as a full participant. It was seen as a way to encourage Yeltsin with his capitalist reforms. Russia formally joined the group in 1998, resulting in the Group of Eight, or G8.

Food[edit]

A major focus of the G8 since 2009 has been the global supply of food.[21] At the 2009 L'Aquila summit, the G8's members promised to contribute $20 billion to the issue over three years.[22] Since then, only 22% of the promised funds have been delivered.[23]

At the 2012 summit, President Barack Obama plans to ask G8 leaders to adopt a policy that would privatize global food investment.[24][25]

Russia′s participation suspension (2014)[edit]

On 24 March 2014, the non-Russian G8 members cancelled the planned G8 summit that was to be held in June that year in the Russian city of Sochi, and suspended Russia′s membership of the group, blaming Russia's role in the Crimean crisis; nevertheless, they stopped short of outright permanent expulsion.[26] Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov downplayed the importance of the decision by the U.S. and its allies, and pointed up that major international decisions were taken by the G20 countries.[6][27]

In April 2015, the German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that Russia would be welcomed to return to G8 provided the Minsk Protocol was implemented.[28] In 2016 he added that "none of the major international conflicts can be solved without Russia", and the G7 countries will consider Russia's return to the group in 2017.[29][30] The same year, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe called for Russia's return to G8, stating that Russia's involvement is "crucial to tackling multiple crises in the Middle East".[31]

Structure and activities[edit]

Leaders of the G8 on 18 June 2013, in Lough Erne, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

By design, the G8 deliberately lacks an administrative structure like those for international organizations, such as the United Nations or the World Bank. The group does not have a permanent secretariat, or offices for its members.

The presidency of the group rotates annually among member countries, with each new term beginning on 1 January of the year. The rotation order is: France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Canada.[32] The country holding the presidency is responsible for planning and hosting a series of ministerial-level meetings, leading up to a mid-year summit attended by the heads of government. The president of the European Commission participates as an equal in all summit events.[33]

The ministerial meetings bring together ministers responsible for various portfolios to discuss issues of mutual or global concern. The range of topics include health, law enforcement, labor, economic and social development, energy, environment, foreign affairs, justice and interior, terrorism, and trade. There are also a separate set of meetings known as the G8+5, created during the 2005 Gleneagles, Scotland summit, that is attended by finance and energy ministers from all eight member countries in addition to the five "outreach countries" which are also known as the Group of Five—Brazil, People's Republic of China, India, Mexico, and South Africa.[34]

In June 2005, justice ministers and interior ministers from the G8 countries agreed to launch an international database on pedophiles.[35] The G8 officials also agreed to pool data on terrorism, subject to restrictions by privacy and security laws in individual countries.[36]

Global energy[edit]

Main articles: International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation and Climate Investment Funds
G8 leaders confer during the 2009 summit in L'Aquila (Abruzzo, Italy).

At the Heiligendamm Summit in 2007, the G8 acknowledged a proposal from the EU for a worldwide initiative on efficient energy use. They agreed to explore, along with the International Energy Agency, the most effective means to promote energy efficiency internationally. A year later, on 8 June 2008, the G8 along with China, India, South Korea and the European Community established the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation, at the Energy Ministerial meeting hosted by Japan holding 2008 G8 Presidency, in Aomori.[37]

G8 Finance Ministers, whilst in preparation for the 34th Summit of the G8 Heads of State and Government in Toyako, Hokkaido, met on the 13 and 14 June 2008, in Osaka, Japan. They agreed to the "G8 Action Plan for Climate Change to Enhance the Engagement of Private and Public Financial Institutions." In closing, Ministers supported the launch of new Climate Investment Funds (CIFs) by the World Bank, which will help existing efforts until a new framework under the UNFCCC is implemented after 2012. The UNFCCC is not on track to meeting any of its stated goals.[38]

Annual summit[edit]

The annual G8 leaders summit is attended by the heads of government.[39] The member country holding the G8 presidency is responsible for organizing and hosting the year's summit.

The serial annual summits can be parsed chronologically in arguably distinct ways, including as the sequence of host countries for the summits has recurred over time, series, etc.[40]

Rank Date Host Country Host leader Host City Website Notes
1st November 15–17, 1975  France Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Rambouillet, Château de Rambouillet G6 Summit
2nd June 27–28, 1976  United States Gerald R. Ford Dorado, Puerto Rico[41] Also called "Rambouillet II;" Canada joins the group, forming the G7[41]
3rd May 7–8, 1977  United Kingdom James Callaghan London President of the European Commission is invited to join the annual G-7 summits
4th July 16–17, 1978  West Germany Helmut Schmidt Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia
5th June 28–29, 1979  Japan Masayoshi Ōhira Tokyo
6th June 22–23, 1980  Italy Francesco Cossiga Venice Acting Prime Minister Masayoshi Ito of Japan did not attend.
7th July 20–21, 1981  Canada Pierre E. Trudeau Montebello, Quebec
8th June 4–6, 1982  France François Mitterrand Versailles
9th May 28–30, 1983  United States Ronald Reagan Williamsburg, Virginia
10th June 7–9, 1984  United Kingdom Margaret Thatcher London
11th May 2–4, 1985  West Germany Helmut Kohl Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia
12th May 4–6, 1986  Japan Yasuhiro Nakasone Tokyo
13th June 8–10, 1987  Italy Amintore Fanfani Venice
14th June 19–21, 1988  Canada Brian Mulroney Toronto
15th July 14–16, 1989  France François Mitterrand Paris
16th July 9–11, 1990  United States George H. W. Bush Houston
17th July 15–17, 1991  United Kingdom John Major London
18th July 6–8, 1992  Germany Helmut Kohl Munich, Bavaria
19th July 7–9, 1993  Japan Kiichi Miyazawa Tokyo
20th July 8–10, 1994  Italy Silvio Berlusconi Naples
21st June 15–17, 1995  Canada Jean Chrétien Halifax, Nova Scotia [42]
22nd June 27–29, 1996  France Jacques Chirac Lyon International organizations' debut to G7 Summits periodically. The invited ones here were: United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization.[43]
23rd June 20–22, 1997  United States Bill Clinton Denver [44] Russia joins the group, forming G8
24th May 15–17, 1998  United Kingdom Tony Blair Birmingham [45]
25th June 18–20, 1999  Germany Gerhard Schröder Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia [46] First Summit of the G-20 major economies at Berlin
26th July 21–23, 2000  Japan Yoshiro Mori Nago, Okinawa [47] Formation of the G8+5 starts, when South Africa was invited. Until the 38th G8 summit in 2012, it has been invited to the Summit annually without interruption. Also, with permission from a G8 leader, other nations were invited to the Summit on a periodical basis for the first time. Nigeria, Algeria and Senegal accepted their invitations here. The World Health Organization was also invited for the first time.[43]
27th July 20–22, 2001  Italy Silvio Berlusconi Genoa [48] Leaders from Bangladesh, Mali and El Salvador accepted their invitations here.[43] Demonstrator Carlo Giuliani is shot and killed by police during a violent demonstration. One of the largest and most violent anti-globalization movement protests occurred for the 27th G8 summit.[49] Following those events and the September 11 attacks two months later in 2001, the G8 have met at more remote locations.
28th June 26–27, 2002  Canada Jean Chrétien Kananaskis, Alberta [50] Russia gains permission to officially host a G8 Summit.
29th June 2–3, 2003  France Jacques Chirac Évian-les-Bains The G8+5 was unofficially made, when China, India, Brazil, and Mexico were invited to this Summit for the first time. South Africa has joined the G8 Summit, since 2000, until the 2012 edition. Other first-time nations that were invited by the French president included: Egypt, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Switzerland.[43]
30th June 8–10, 2004  United States George W. Bush Sea Island, Georgia [51] A record number of leaders from 12 different nations accepted their invitations here. Amongst a couple of veteran nations, the others were: Ghana, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Turkey, Yemen and Uganda.[43] Also, the state funeral of former president Ronald Reagan took place in Washington during the summit.
31st July 6–8, 2005  United Kingdom Tony Blair Gleneagles [52] The G8+5 was officially formed. On the second day of the meeting, suicide bombers killed 52 people on the London Underground and a bus. Nations that were invited for the first time were Ethiopia and Tanzania. The African Union and the International Energy Agency made their debut here.[43] During the 31st G8 summit in United Kingdom, 225,000 people took to the streets of Edinburgh as part of the Make Poverty History campaign calling for Trade Justice, Debt Relief and Better Aid. Numerous other demonstrations also took place challenging the legitimacy of the G8.[53]
32nd July 15–17, 2006  Russia Vladimir Putin Strelna, St. Petersburg First G8 Summit on Russian soil. Also, the International Atomic Energy Agency and UNESCO made their debut here.[43]
33rd June 6–8, 2007  Germany Angela Merkel Heiligendamm, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Seven different international organizations accepted their invitations to this Summit. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the Commonwealth of Independent States made their debut here.[43]
34th July 7–9, 2008  Japan Yasuo Fukuda Toyako (Lake Toya), Hokkaido [54] Nations that accepted their G8 Summit invitations for the first time are: Australia, Indonesia and South Korea.[43]
35th July 8–10, 2009  Italy Silvio Berlusconi La Maddalena(cancelled)
L'Aquila, Abruzzo (re-located)[55]		 [2] This G8 Summit was originally planned to be in La Maddalena (Sardinia), but was moved to L'Aquila as a way of showing Prime Minister Berlusconi's desire to help the region in and around L'Aquila after the earthquake that hit the area on the April 6th, 2009. Nations that accepted their invitations for the first time were: Angola, Denmark, Netherlands and Spain.[56] A record of TEN (10) international organizations were represented in this G8 Summit. For the first time, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the World Food Programme, and the International Labour Organization accepted their invitations.[57]
36th June 25–26, 2010[58]  Canada Stephen Harper Huntsville, Ontario[59] [60] Malawi, Colombia, Haiti, and Jamaica accepted their invitations for the first time.[61]
37th May 26–27, 2011  France Nicolas Sarkozy Deauville,[62][63] Basse-Normandie Guinea, Niger, Côte d'Ivoire and Tunisia accepted their invitations for the first time. Also, the League of Arab States made its debut to the meeting.[64]
38th May 18–19, 2012  United States Barack Obama Chicago (cancelled)
Camp David (re-located)[65]		 [3] The summit was originally planned for Chicago, along with the NATO summit, but it was announced officially on March 5, 2012, that the G8 summit will be held at the more private location of Camp David and at one day earlier than previously scheduled.[66] Also, this is the second G8 summit, in which one of the core leaders (Vladimir Putin) declined to participate. This G8 summit concentrated on the core leaders only; no non-G8 leaders or international organizations were invited.
39th June 17–18, 2013  United Kingdom David Cameron Lough Erne, County Fermanagh[67] [4] As in 2012, only the core members of the G8 attended this meeting. The four main topics that were discussed here were trade, government transparency, tackling tax evasion, and the ongoing Syrian crisis.[68]
40th June 4–5, 2014  Russia (cancelled)
 European Union		 Vladimir Putin (cancelled)
Herman Van Rompuy (new) and José Manuel Barroso		 Sochi (cancelled)
Brussels (re-located)		 [5] (EU)
[6] (Russia)		 G7 summit held as an alternative meeting without Russia in 2014 due to its association with the Crimean crisis.[69] G8 summit did not take place in Sochi, Russia. G7 summit relocated to Brussels, Belgium.[70]
41st June 7–8, 2015  Germany Angela Merkel Schloss Elmau[71] [7] Summit dedicated to focus on the global economy as well as on key issues regarding foreign, security and development policy[72]
42nd May 26–27, 2016[73][74]  Japan Shinzō Abe Shima, Mie Prefecture[75] [8]
43rd May 26–27, 2017[76]  Italy TBD Taormina, Sicily[77]
44th TBD, 2018  Canada[78] Justin Trudeau TBD
45th TBD, 2019  France[78] TBD in 2017 Presidential Election TBD
46th TBD, 2020  United States[78] Donald Trump TBD
47th TBD, 2021  United Kingdom[78] TBD in United Kingdom General Election, 2020 TBD

Member facts[edit]

The G8 leaders at the 36th summit in Huntsville, Ontario. Left to right: Cameron, Van Rompuy (European Council), Harper, Medvedev, Kan, Berlusconi, Obama, Barroso (European Commission), Merkel, Sarkozy.
  • 7 of the 7 top-ranked advanced economies with the largest GDP and with the highest national wealth (United States, Japan, Germany, UK, France, Italy, Canada) last century also known as G7 [79]
  • 7 of the 15 top-ranked countries with the highest net wealth per capita (United States, France, Japan, United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Germany)
  • 8 of 12 top-ranked leading export countries.[80]
  • 6 of 10 top-ranked countries with the largest gold reserves (United States, Germany, Italy, France, Russia, Japan).
  • 8 of 11 top-ranked economies (by nominal GDP), according to latest (2012 data) International Monetary Fund's statistics.
  • 5 countries with a nominal GDP per capita above US$40,000 (United States, Canada, Germany, France, United Kingdom).
  • 5 countries with a sovereign wealth fund, administered by either a national or a state/provincial government (Russia, United States, France, Canada, Italy).[81]
  • 8 of 30 top-ranked nations with large amounts of foreign-exchange reserves in their central banks.
  • 4 out of 9 countries having nuclear weapons (France, Russia, UK, United States).[82][83] plus 2 countries that have nuclear weapon sharing programs (Germany, Italy).[84][85]
  • 7 of the 9 largest nuclear energy producers (United States, France, Japan, Russia, Germany, Canada, UK), although Germany announced in 2011 that it will close all of its nuclear power plants by 2022.[86] Following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Japan shut down all of its nuclear reactors.[87] However, Japan restarted several nuclear reactors, with the refueling of other reactors underway.
  • 8 of the 15 top donors to the UN budget for the 2013 annual fiscal year.
  • 4 countries with a HDI index for 2013 of 0.9 and higher (United States, Germany, Japan, Canada).
  • 2 countries with the highest credit rating from Standard & Poor's, Fitch, and Moody's at the same time (Canada and Germany).[88]
  • 2 countries that retain the death penalty in law and practice (Japan and the United States; Russia retains the death penalty, but the regulations of the Council of Europe prohibit it from carrying out any executions).
  • 2 countries consist of islands and have left-hand traffic (Japan and the United Kingdom; in the US Virgin Islands, they have left-hand traffic to remain compatible with the British Virgin Islands, but the rest of the United States has right-hand traffic).
  • In the G8 states, 6 languages have official status: English in 3 countries (Canada, United Kingdom and US), French in 2 countries (Canada and France), German, Italian, Japanese, and Russian in 1 country each (Germany, Italy, Japan, and Russia).

Visa policy of the G8 states[edit]

Within the G8 states:

  • Russia requires visas from the seven other countries, and Russian citizens needs visas for the seven other countries, so the citizens of no G8 member can visit all seven other countries visa-free.
  • Canadians are the only G8 citizens who can travel to the United States without visa or ESTA. They can stay 6 months and work and study under simplified special procedure, while citizens from the other countries can stay for 3 months. Canada introduced an electronic travel authorization for visa-free eligible nationals in August 2015, and it will be mandatory on September 29, 2016.
  • The United States, Japan, and Russia fingerprint all visitors.

European members of G8:

  • Being EU citizens, Britons, French, Germans, and Italians can live and work indefinitely in other EU countries and in the four EFTA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway). The status of EU citizen in Switzerland has to be settled in an upcoming treaty after Swiss referendum banned unlimited European immigration.

G8 states and other countries:

As of 2014:

  • only Chileans and South Koreans have visa-free access to all G8 states (for the United States, ESTA is required, and Canada introduced it in August 2015). On November 22, Canada lifted the visa requirement for Chilean citizens. The citizens of Israel can travel to seven G8 states visa-free, and the United States of America is discussing legislation that makes them eligible for ESTA.
  • Japan is the only G8 member the citizens of which can travel visa-free to the People's Republic of China.
    • citizens of only four countries can travel visa-free both to the People's Republic of China and the United States of America (ESTA): Brunei, Japan, San Marino, and Singapore.
  • The United States of America is the only G8 member the citizens of which can travel visa-free to Equatorial Guinea.
  • Russians can always travel visa-free to Kazakhstan. Britons, French, Germans, Italians, and US citizens (BUT NOT Canadians) can travel visa-free to Kazakhstan from July 15, 2014 until July 15, 2015. This is part of a no-visa pilot program, but Kazakhstan has announced not to continue the program after July 2015. Currently, Russia and North Korea are discussing a visa-free regime.
  • Cuba grants of the G8 citizens only Russians visa-free entry (30 days). The citizens of the seven other countries must obtain a tourist card from a Cuban diplomatic mission before traveling. The tourist card grants maximum stay of 30 days (90 days in case of Canadian citizens) and can be extended once for the same period. Under Cuban Assets Control Regulations, all persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction must be licensed in order to engage in any travel-related transactions pursuant to travel to, from, and within Cuba.
  • Britons, French, Germans, and Italians can visit Australia with the eVisitor online visa (no fee), citizens of Canada, Japan, and the United States of America need the ETA online visa (with fee). Russians need the Electronic Visitor visa (with fee).
  • Since November 27, citizens of Germany, Russia, and the United States of America have been eligible for online visas granted by India. Before that date, citizens of Japan had already been eligible for visas on arrival. (They are also eligible for online visas.) Citizens of Canada, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom will be eligible for online visas in the near future.

Travel freedom of G8 citizens (May 2014)[edit]

  • Germany, United Kingdom (British Citizen Passport), United States: 174 countries visa-free / visa on arrival (Rank: 1)
  • Canada: 173 countries visa-free / visa on arrival (Rank: 2)
  • France, Italy, Japan: 172 countries visa-free / visa on arrival (Rank: 3)
  • Russia: 100 countries visa-free / visa on arrival (Rank: 38)

Dual-citizenship policies of the G8 states[edit]

  • Canada and the United States of America allow dual citizenship and are worldwide the only two industrialized democracies to grant unconditional birthright citizenship (even to children of illegal immigrants). In the United States, ESTA-eligible visitors must indicate whether they have several citizenships, and only "natural-born" citizens can be elected President or Vice President. The United States of America and the non-G8 member Eritrea are currently the only two countries worldwide to have citizenship-based taxation; contrary to some incorrect reports, China does not have such a system of taxation.[89]
  • France and the United Kingdom allow dual citizenship and have a restricted jus soli (at least one parent must be a citizen or a legal immigrant who has lived in the country for several years).
  • Germany allows dual citizenship with other EU countries and Switzerland; dual citizenship with other countries is possible if obtained at birth or with special permission. For children of legal immigrants, there is a restricted jus soli: Children born on or after January 1, 2000 to non-German parents acquire German citizenship at birth if at least one parent has a permanent residence permit (and had this status for at least three years) and the parent was residing in Germany for at least eight years. The children must have lived in Germany for at least eight years or attended school for six years until their 21st birthday. Non-EU/non-Swiss-citizen parents born and grown up abroad usually cannot have dual citizenship themselves.
  • Italy allows dual citizenship.
  • Japan officially forbids dual citizenship. Japanese citizens who obtained a second citizenship at birth must choose one citizenship before the age of 22, or they will lose their Japanese citizenship. However, it is possible for Japanese citizens to currently have dual citizenship with another country, given special circumstances; for example, if one obtained dual citizenship prior to January 1, 1985, when the nationality law was enacted, one would retain said status into the present day.
  • Russia allows dual citizenship, but the other citizenship must be reported to the officials.

With G8+5 and the G20[edit]

  • all G8 countries became members of the unofficial trillion dollar club (countries with a nominal GDP in excess of US$1 trillion) by 2005. Today, 14 (out of the total of 15 so far) countries in the world are members of both the unofficial club and the G-20 major economies group.
  • all of the G8, 15 (out of 19) of the G-20, and 12 (out of 13) G8+5-countries (minus South Africa) are among the 20 top-ranked nations by the amount of voting power and special drawing rights (SDRs) in the International Monetary Fund.
  • All members of the G8, excluding Russia, and three G-20 nations not members of the G8, Australia, South Korea, and Argentina, have a HDI index of 0.8 or higher for 2013.

Influence of member nations[edit]

The G7/G8 is considered an informal forum of countries deserving the status of Great Powers.[90][91][92] Together the eight countries making up the G8 represent about 14% of the world population, but they represent about 60% of the World wealth and 60% of the gross world product[93] as measured by gross domestic product, all eight nations being within the top 12 countries according to the CIA World Factbook. (see the CIA World Factbook column in List of countries by GDP (nominal)), the majority of global military power (seven are in the top 8 nations for military expenditure[94]), and almost all of the world's active nuclear weapons.[95] In 2007, the combined G8 military spending was US$850 billion. This is 72% of the world's total military expenditures. (see List of countries and federations by military expenditures) Four of the G8 members, the United Kingdom, United States, France and Russia, together account for 96–99% of the world's nuclear weapons.[96] (see List of states with nuclear weapons)

Criticism[edit]

20 July 2001, 27th G8 summit in Genoa, Italy: Protesters burn a police vehicle which was abandoned by police during a clash with protesters.

Some criticism centres on the assertion that members of G8 do not do enough to help global problems such as Third World Debt, global warming and the AIDS epidemic—due to strict medicine patent policy and other issues related to globalization. In Unravelling Global Apartheid, the political analyst Titus Alexander described the G7, as it then was, as the 'cabinet' of global minority rule, with a coordinating role in world affairs.[97]

The conservative Heritage Foundation has criticized the G8 for advocating food security without making room for economic freedom.[98]

Relevance[edit]

The G8's relevance is unclear.[99] It still represents the major industrialized countries but critics argue that the G8 has now become unrepresentative of the world's most powerful economies. In particular, China has surpassed every economy but the United States,[100] while Brazil has surpassed Canada (according to the IMF). Also according to the International Monetary Fund and the CIA World Factbook, India has already surpassed Canada, Italy, UK, Germany, France, and Japan in terms of purchasing power parity (see List of countries by GDP (PPP)), although remaining on the 10th position when it comes to nominal GDP. This has given rise to the idea of enlarging G8 to the G8+5, which includes these other economically powerful nations. Other critics assert, however, that the concept of a country's net wealth is different from the nation's GDP.[citation needed]

With Vladimir Putin not attending the 2012 G8 summit at Camp David, Foreign Policy (FP) magazine argued that the summit has generally outlived its usefulness as a viable international gathering of foreign leaders.[101] Another contributor to Foreign Policy suggested that Russia should be excluded from the G8 altogether.[102][103] Yet, a third FP contributor commented in 2012, that the G8 was still relevant, despite the increasing international power and prestige of the G-20 major economies leaders' summit.[104]

British Prime Minister David Cameron said of the G8 in 2012:[105]

Some people ask, does the G8 still matter, when we have a Group of 20? My answer is, yes. The G8 is a group of like-minded countries that share a belief in free enterprise as the best route to growth. As eight countries making up about half the world's gross domestic product, the standards we set, the commitments we make, and the steps we take can help solve vital global issues, fire up economies and drive prosperity all over the world.

Current leaders[edit]

See also: List of G8 leaders and Senior G8 leader

Youth 8 Summit[edit]

The Y8 Summit or simply Y8, formerly known as the G8 Youth Summit[106] is the youth counterpart to the G8 summit.[107] The first summit to use the name Y8 took place in May 2012 in Puebla, Mexico, alongside the Youth G8 that took place in Washington, D.C. the same year.

The Y8 Summit brings together young leaders from G8 nations and the European Union to facilitate discussions of international affairs, promote cross-cultural understanding, and build global friendships. The conference closely follows the formal negotiation procedures of the G8 Summit.[108] The Y8 Summit represents the innovative voice of young adults between the age of 18 and 35. The delegates jointly come up with a consensus-based[109] written statement in the end, the Final Communiqué.[110] This document is subsequently presented to G8 leaders in order to inspire positive change.[111] The Y8 Summit is organised annually by a global network of youth-led organisations called The IDEA (The International Diplomatic Engagement Association).[112] The organisations undertake the selection processes for their respective national delegations, while the hosting country is responsible for organising the summit. Now, several youth associations are supporting and getting involved in the project. For instance, every year, the Young European Leadership association is recruiting and sending EU Delegates.

The goal of the Y8 Summit is to bring together young people from around the world to allow the voices and opinions of young generations to be heard and to encourage them to take part in global decision-making processes.[113][114]

Summit Year Host country Location held
1st International Student Model G8 2006  Russia Saint Petersburg
2nd Model G8 Youth Summit 2007  Germany Berlin
3rd Model G8 Youth Summit 2008  Japan Yokohama
4th G8 Youth Summit 2009  Italy Milano
5th G8 Youth Summit 2010  Canada Muskoka & Toronto
6th G8 Youth Summit 2011  France Paris
** Y8 Summit 2012  Mexico Puebla
7th G8 Youth Summit 2012  USA Washington D.C.
8th Y8 summit 2013  UK London
9th Y8 summit 2014  Russia Moscow*
  • The Y8 Summit 2014 in Moscow was suspended due to the suspension of Russia from the G8.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Thinking Ahead: The 'One-Time' G-22 Looks Useful". New York Times. Retrieved 2014-03-01. 
  2. ^ "EU and the G8". European Commission. Archived from the original on February 26, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-25. 
  3. ^ FACTBOX: The Group of Eight: what is it?, Reuters
  4. ^ "Russia Is Ousted From Group of 8 by U.S. and Allies". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-03-25. 
  5. ^ a b c The Group of Eight (G8) Industrialized Nations
  6. ^ a b "U.S., other powers kick Russia out of G8". CNN.com. 24 March 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-25. 
  7. ^ Smale, Alison; Shear, Michael D. (24 March 2014). "Russia Is Ousted From Group of 8 by U.S. and Allies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 21 December 2015. 
  8. ^ "Russia suspended from G8 over annexation of Crimea, Group of Seven nations says". National Post. 24 March 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2015. 
  9. ^ Until recently, the EU had the privileges and obligations of a membership that did not host or chair summits. It is represented by the Commission and Council presidents. "EU and the G8". European Commission. Retrieved 2007-09-25. 
  10. ^ "Officials: G-20 to supplant G-8 as international economic council". CNN. 2009-09-25. Retrieved 2009-09-25. 
  11. ^ "G20 to replace the G8". SBS. 2009-09-26. Archived from the original on September 27, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-26. 
  12. ^ Japan and the G20: Ambivalence and the China factor
  13. ^ Shultz, George P., Turmoil and Triumph: My Years as Secretary of State, 1993, p. 148 ISBN 0-684-19325-6
  14. ^ Bayne, Nicholas et al. (2000). Hanging in There, p. 34.
  15. ^ Shultz, ibid.
  16. ^ Farnsworth, Clyde H. "A Secret Society of Finance Ministers," New York Times. May 8, 1977.
  17. ^ [1] G8: The Most Exclusive Club in the World, Thomas S. Axworthy, The Canadian Encyclopedia, Historica Foundation of Canada, Toronto, Undated. Accessed 07-23-2015.
  18. ^ "EU and the G8". European Union. Archived from the original on December 26, 2007. Retrieved 2006-07-17. 
  19. ^ Schaefer, Robert K (2005). "Dollar Devaluations". Understanding Globalization: The Social Consequences of Political, Economic, and Environmental Change. Rowman and Littlefield. p. 346. 
  20. ^ "Russia — Odd Man Out in the G-8", Mark Medish, The Globalist, 02-24-2006.Accessed: 07-12-2008 Archived March 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  21. ^ "Cash-strapped G8 looks to private sector in hunger fight". Reuters. 18 May 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2012. 
  22. ^ Lief, Eric (15 September 2012). "Funding Food Security - A Financial Lens on the L'Aquila G8". Spotlight. Retrieved 18 May 2012. 
  23. ^ "G8 leaders urged to live up to nutrition commitments". Farming UK. 18 May 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2012. 
  24. ^ Tandon, Shaun (18 May 2012). "Obama turns to private sector to feed world's poor". Agence France-Presse. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2012. 
  25. ^ Patrick, Stewart M. (16 May 2012). "Why This Year's G8 Summit Matters". The Atlantic. Retrieved 18 May 2012. 
  26. ^ "Ukraine crisis: Russia scathing about G8 suspension as fears grow". The Independent. 25 March 2014. 
  27. ^ "Russia Suspended From G8 Club Of Rich Countries". Business Insider. 2014-03-24. 
  28. ^ Russian return to G8 depends on Ukraine ceasefire-German minister Reuters, 15 April 2015.
  29. ^ World Powers to Consider Russia’s Return to G8 Next Year
  30. ^ Steinmeier für Rückkehr Russlands zu G-8-Gipfeln
  31. ^ Japan’s Abe calls for Putin to be brought in from the cold
  32. ^ G8 Research Group. "What is the G8?". University of Toronto. Retrieved 2014-03-08. 
  33. ^ Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan): Summit Meetings in the Past; European Union: "EU and the G8"
  34. ^ "G5 Overview; Evolución del Grupo de los Cinco". Groupoffive.org. Retrieved 2010-06-27. 
  35. ^ "G8 to launch international pedophile database" David Batty June 18, 2005, The Guardian
  36. ^ "G8 to pool data on terrorism" Martin Wainwright, June 18, 2005, The Guardian
  37. ^ The International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation (IPEEC). June 8, 2008.
  38. ^ "G8 Finance Ministers Support Climate Investment Funds". IISD - Climate Change Policy & Practice. 14 June 2008. 
  39. ^ Feldman, Adam (July 7, 2008). "What's Wrong with the G-8". Forbes. New York. 
  40. ^ Hajnal, Peter I. (1999). The G8 System and the G20: Evolution, Role and Documentation , p. 30, at Google Books
  41. ^ a b Shabecoff, Philip. "Go-Slow Policies Urged by Leaders in Economic Talks; Closing Statement Calls for Sustained Growth Coupled With Curbs on Inflation; Ford's Aims Realized; 7 Heads of Government Also Agree to Consider a New Body to Assist Italy Co-Slow Economic Policies Urged by 7 Leaders," New York Times. June 29, 1976; Chronology, June 1976.
  42. ^ "Halifax G7 Summit 1995". Chebucto.ns.ca. 2000-05-28. Retrieved 2010-06-27. 
  43. ^ a b c d e f g h i Kirton, John. "A Summit of Substantial Success: The Performance of the 2008 G8"; page 88 and 89 G8 Information Centre — University of Toronto July 17, 2008.
  44. ^ "Denver Summit of the Eight". State.gov. Retrieved 2010-02-08. 
  45. ^ "Internet Archive Wayback Machine". Web.archive.org. 1998-12-12. Archived from the original on 1998-12-12. Retrieved 2011-05-21. 
  46. ^ "1999 G8 summit documents". Web.archive.org. 2005-02-26. Archived from the original on 2005-02-26. Retrieved 2010-06-27. 
  47. ^ "Kyushu-Okinawa Summit". MOFA. Retrieved 2010-02-08. 
  48. ^ "Vertice di Genova 2001". Web.archive.org. 2001-08-06. Archived from the original on 2001-08-06. Retrieved 2010-02-08. 
  49. ^ Italy officials convicted over G8, BBC News
  50. ^ "UT G8 Info. Centre. Kananaskis Summit 2002. Summit Contents". G8.utoronto.ca. Retrieved 2010-02-08. 
  51. ^ "Sea Island Summit 2004". Georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov. Retrieved 2010-02-08. 
  52. ^ "Special Reports | G8_Gleneagles". BBC News. 2008-09-17. Retrieved 2010-02-08. 
  53. ^ David Miller "Spinning the G8", Zednet, May 13, 2005.
  54. ^ "Hokkaido Toyako Summit – TOP". Mofa.go.jp. Retrieved 2010-02-08. 
  55. ^ "BERLUSCONI PROPOSES RELOCATION OF G8 SUMMIT TO L'AQUILA". Running in heels. 24 April 2009. Retrieved 12 June 2016. 
  56. ^ "G8 Summit 2009 – official website – Other Countries". G8italia2009.it. Retrieved 2010-02-08. 
  57. ^ "G8 Summit 2009 – official website – International Organizations". G8italia2009.it. Retrieved 2010-02-08. 
  58. ^ "Canada's G8 Plans" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-06-27. 
  59. ^ "Prime Minister of Canada: Prime Minister announces Canada to host 2010 G8 Summit in Huntsville". Pm.gc.ca. Retrieved 2010-02-08. 
  60. ^ "2010 Muskoka Summit". Canadainternational.gc.ca. Archived from the original on April 10, 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-21. 
  61. ^ Participants at the 2010 Muskoka Summit. G8 Information Centre. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
  62. ^ "Le prochain G20 aura lieu à Cannes," Le point. November 12, 2010.
  63. ^ The City of Deauville Official 2011 G8 website. Retrieved February 7, 2011. Archived July 26, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  64. ^ Kirton, John (May 26, 2011). "Prospects for the 2011 G8 Deauville Summit". G8 Information Centre. Retrieved 2011-05-27. 
  65. ^ "2012 G8 Summit Relocation". G8.utoronto.ca. Retrieved 2013-03-26. 
  66. ^ "White House Moves G8 Summit From Chicago To Camp David". CBS Chicago. March 5, 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-05. 
  67. ^ "BBC News - Lough Erne resort in Fermanagh to host G8 summit". Bbc.co.uk. 2012-11-20. Retrieved 2013-03-26. 
  68. ^ "As it happened: G8 summit". BBC News. Retrieved 2013-06-18. 
  69. ^ "Russia out in the cold after suspension from the G8". The Scotsman. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2014. 
  70. ^ "G-7 Agrees to Exclude Russia, Increase Sanctions/World Powers to Meet in Brussels in June Without Russia". The Wall Street Journal. 25 March 2014. 
  71. ^ Germany to hold 2015 G8 summit at Alpine spa Elmau in Bavaria[dead link]
  72. ^ "German G7 presidency - Key topics for the summit announced". 19 November 2014. 
  73. ^ "Japan announced to host G7 summit in 2016 in Shima". prepsure.com. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2015. 
  74. ^ "Japan Announces Dates for G7 Summit in 2016". NDTV. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2015. 
  75. ^ "来年のサミット 三重県志摩市で開催へ (Next Year's Summit To Be Held In Shima City, Mie Prefecture)" (in Japanese). 2015-06-05. Retrieved 2015-06-05. 
  76. ^ "Renzi announces to host G7 summit in 2017 in Taormina". RaiNews24. 26 May 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016. 
  77. ^ G7 a Taormina, è ufficiale. Renzi chiama da Boston il sindaco Giardina: «Il vertice si farà nella Perla»
  78. ^ a b c d "G7 Summit in Brussels, 4 – 5 June 2014: Background note and facts about the EU's role and action". 3 June 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2015. 
  79. ^ "CIA World Fact Country Rankings". 
  80. ^ "exports". cia factbook. 
  81. ^ "Sovereign Wealth Fund Rankings". SWF Institute. Retrieved 2012-02-16. 
  82. ^ "Status of Nuclear Forces". Federation of American Scientists. March 26, 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-26. 
  83. ^ "Which countries have nuclear weapons?". BBC News. March 26, 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-26. 
  84. ^ Malcolm Chalmers & Simon Lunn (March 2010), NATO's Tactical Nuclear Dilemma, Royal United Services Institute, retrieved 2010-03-16 
  85. ^ "Der Spiegel: ''Foreign Minister Wants US Nukes out of Germany'". Der Spiegel. 2009-04-10. Retrieved 2014-04-10. 
  86. ^ "Germany: Nuclear power plants to close by 2022". BBC. May 30, 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-12. 
  87. ^ "Tomari shutdown leaves Japan without nuclear power". BBC News. May 5, 2012. Retrieved 2012-05-05. 
  88. ^ "11 countries with perfect credit". USA Today. 2013-10-16. Retrieved 2014-04-10. 
  89. ^ "Tax Analysts -- Experts Question Accuracy of New York Times Story on Chinese Taxation". taxanalysts.com. 22 January 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2015. 
  90. ^ The Seven-Power Summit as an International Concert
  91. ^ The G6/G7: great power governance
  92. ^ Tables of Science Po and Documentation Francaise: Russia y las grandes potencias and G8 et Chine
  93. ^ "United Nations Development Programme". Undp.org. Retrieved 2010-02-08. 
  94. ^ "World Wide Military Expenditures". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 2007-12-10.  External link in |publisher= (help)
  95. ^ "The G8 and the Nuclear Industry". The Campaign for Nuclear Phaseout. June 2002. Retrieved 2007-11-28. 
  96. ^ "Status of World Nuclear Forces". Federation of American Scientists. Retrieved 2010-01-12. 
  97. ^ Alexander, titus (1996). Unravelling Global Apartheid: an overview of world politics. Polity Press. pp. 212–213. 
  98. ^ Miller, Terry (17 May 2012). "G8 Food Security Agenda Should Encourage Greater Privatisation.". Heritage Foundation. Retrieved 18 May 2012. 
  99. ^ Lee, Don (July 6, 2008). "On eve of summit, G-8's relevance is unclear". Los Angeles Times. 
  100. ^ "China marches towards world's No. 2 economy". CNN. August 16, 2010. 
  101. ^ Bremmer, Ian (May 14, 2012). "Welcome to the New World Disorder". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2012-05-16. 
  102. ^ Aslund, Anders (May 15, 2012). "Kick Russia Out of the G-8". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2012-05-16. 
  103. ^ Bremmer, Ian (May 15, 2012). "Putin's G-8 snub could keep the U.S. and Russia talking". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2012-05-16. 
  104. ^ Bosco, David (May 16, 2012). "Three cheers for homogeneity". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2012-05-16. 
  105. ^ Horgan, Colin (2012-11-21). "The G8 still matters: David Cameron &#124". Ipolitics.ca. Retrieved 2014-03-25. 
  106. ^ Bogott, Nicole (June 2010). "Global gerechte Handelspolitik". The European (in German). 
  107. ^ Dobson, Hugo (2011). "The G8, the G20, and Civil Society". In avona, Paolo; Kirton, John J.; Oldani, Chiara. Global Financial Crisis: Global Impact and Solutions. Ashgate. pp. 247, 251. ISBN 140940272X. 
  108. ^ Brun, Martine (July 2013). "Camille Grossetete, une Claixoise au Youth 8". Dauphiné Libéré (in French). 
  109. ^ Kohler, Oliver (July 2010). "Traumjob Bundeskanzlerin". Märkische Oderzeitung (in German). 
  110. ^ Castagna, Silvia (June 2013). "Da barista a ministro del G8 dei giovani". Il Giornale di Vicenza (in Italian). 
  111. ^ Hudson Sun. Hudson man to represent the US at the Y8 Summit May 2013. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=354302018029879&set=a.335706519889429.1073741825.224171201042962&type=1&relevant_count=1
  112. ^ "The President and CEO's Notebook: What is The IDEA?". Young Americans for Diplomatic Leadership. 22 April 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2015. 
  113. ^ TASR Mladý Slovák zastupoval Slovensko a EÚ na mládežníckom summite G20 Teraz. June 2012. http://www.teraz.sk/ekonomika/mlady-slovak-zastupoval-slovensko-a-e/12769-clanok.html
  114. ^ Enenkel, Kathrin. G8 Youth Summit and Europe's Voice 2009: Results and Reflexions. 2009. https://books.google.com/books/about/G8_Youth_Summit_and_Europe_s_Voice_2009.html?id=pHyHmwEACAAJ&redir_esc=y

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Group_of_Eight&oldid=754433926"