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Thursday, May 26, 2011

The European Union at the G8 summit in Deauville –shaping and supporting a changing world

The European Union, as a full member of the G8, will push for ambitious answers to common challenges at the G8 summit in Deauville from 26-27 May. It is for the first time that G8 leaders meet since the beginning of the transitions in the Arab world and the disaster that has struck Japan earlier this year. They will discuss how the G8 can support the democratic aspirations in the European neighbourhood and draw the lessons from the nuclear incident in Japan. The European Union is represented at the G8 and G20 summits by the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy and the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, France holds the G8 and G20 presidency in 2011.President Van Rompuy said: “This G8 Summit will address the most relevant and urgent issues of the day: in particular the state of the global economy and the developments in Northern Africa and the Middle East. The G8, as a group, has the critical mass to lead the way on major global issues.

Growth is picking up in most of the world, as it is in the European Union. During today's economic discussion, I will update the other Leaders on the situation in the Eurozone. My main message will be that we face the challenge of the public debt crisis resolutely and that our economic fundamentals remain solid. We will emerge stronger and more united.”

President Barroso said: “The European Union will come to Deauville to push for a new partnership of the G8 with those neighbours in the Southern Mediterranean that have chosen the path of freedom and democracy. Europe has shown the way with its new Partnership for Democracy and Shared Prosperity and a revamped European Neighbourhood policy that is underpinned by 7 billion euros in financial support, 1,24 billion of which is fresh money. On nuclear safety, the EU will seek to commit its partners to highest safety standards, ambitious stress-testing of nuclear power plants and enhanced international cooperation.”

The main topics to be discussed by G8 leaders in Deauville are: the developments in the Middle East and North Africa, nuclear safety, the Internet, the world economy, including trade, green growth and innovation, peace and security issues, development accountability and the G8 Partnership with Africa.

The Summit will start on Thursday, 26 May, at 12.45 with the official welcome of Leaders. Different working sessions of G8 leaders and outreach sessions with partners from Africa and the Arab world are scheduled. Leading business representatives will participate in parts of the discussion on the Internet. A bilateral meeting of President Barroso and President Van Rompuy with the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt is scheduled, too. The summit will end in the early afternoon of the second day.

The G8 members are: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union.

Source  Press room - Europeaid

More information  Press room - Europeaid

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