Vaccines and Multilateralism in the Virtual G7 Agenda

After the One Planet Summit, the G5 Sahel and the Munich Conference, the G7 has just been held virtual way.

On Friday February 19, the heads of state and government of the G7 gathered for a videoconference.

After Covid-19, they must unite their efforts and rebuild on more solid foundations. Thanks to multilateralism, the recovery could improve the areas of health and the economy of countries.

What is the G7?

The first G7 was basically a G5 organized following the first oil shock in 1974. It were meetings in Washington between the United States, Japan, France, Germany the West and the United Kingdom. The following year, the addition of Italy during the summit at the castle of Rambouillet, allows the creation of the G6. Consequently, the 6 countries meet annually, with a rotating chair. They deal with economic and financial matters informally.

In 1976, the G6 became the G7 with the addition of Canada at German-American request. From 1977, the European Union is also participating in the G7, as a guest. The President of the Commission European Union represents it, followed by the representative of the rotating EU Presidency, or the President of the European Council.

Russia was present in 1994 but formally joined the G7 in 1997, more for its political than financial influence. We then speak of G8. Since 2014, date of the attachment of the Crimea to Russia, the G7 and the EU have suspended Russia. Finally, Russia pulls out definitely in 2017.

First meeting for Joe Biden

This second virtual meeting was the first for Joe Biden since his election. He spoke before participating in the Munich Conference. With the leaders of the G7, he re-committed to the multilateralism, discredited by Donald Trump. France has proposed sharing vaccines with poor countries. Europe and the United States should send 13 million doses of anti-covid-19 in Africa, as quickly as possible. States will thus be able to vaccinate 6.5 million caregivers.

Global vaccine deployment

Total financial support from the G7 reaches $ 7.5 billion, with new financial commitments of more than 4 billion in favor of the ACT-A system and the facility COVAX.

The ACT-A device accelerates access to tools to fight COVID-19 (ACT Accelerator).

An innovative new global collaboration, it accelerates the development and production of COVID-19 diagnostics, treatments and vaccines and ensure access to them fair.

The COVAX system ensures equitable access to vaccination against covid-19 in 200 countries.

The GAVI Alliance, WHO, and CEPI funds it. It is one of the 3 pillars of Access to COVID-19

Tools Accelerator, an initiative created in April 2020

The decisions

-Working with WHO to support its role in coordinating and globally deploying vaccines.

-Collaboration with the pharmaceutical industries will increase the capacities of manufacturing, with voluntary licenses.

-Exchange of information, in particular as regards the sequencing of new variants.

-Access to tools to fight COVID-19 (ACT A), to its COVAX facility, to equitable access guaranteed.

-Reasonable price of vaccines.

– Extensive treatments and screening methods.

– Strengthening of support for the ACT-A system by G20 partners and institutions international financial institutions.

– Greater access of developing countries to vaccines approved by WHO through the COVAX facility.

G7 support for its economies

– $ 6 trillion provided over the past year to each of the G7 economies. He will continue his financing to protect jobs and foster a strong, sustainable and balanced recovery, benefiting all.

-Support for the most vulnerable countries.

-Attachment to sustainable development objectives entering into the partnership with Africa, for a sustainable recovery of its economy.

-Full and transparent implementation of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative and framework common action.

Climate change and biodiversity

-Fight against the loss of biodiversity

-Ambitions in terms of climate change at the heart of the policies of the COP26 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the COP15 of the Convention on biodiversity.

– Ecological transformation and clean energy transitions will reduce the emissions.

-Creation of quality jobs to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

-Economic resilience at the global level favored.

• Improvement of the digital economy thanks to the free flow of data in confidence.

Multilateral trading system

-Multilateral rules-based cooperation, modernized, freer and fairer.

-Balanced growth based on the WTO.

-Effort to reach by mid-2021 a consensual solution on international taxation in the OECD framework.

-Cooperation with other G20 countries such as China (leading economy) to encourage a fair global economic system that will benefit everyone.

Next G7

G7, WHO, G20 to meet at health summit in Rome to boost security health and improve pandemic preparedness. Study of a treaty on global health in preparation.

The next G7 Summit will take place in June in the United Kingdom. It will support Japan for

the organization this summer of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

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