This is the seventh G7 summit being held in Germany. The meeting of the most important democratically-run industrial nations is being held for the second time at Elmau Castle, of which Germany holds the presidency this year. According to reports, nine kilometers of cable with a total weight of 115 tons are being laid at the press center in Garmisch-Partenkirchen – and that is about the end of the certainties of this summit meeting. Probably never before in the history of the G7 has a meeting been as politically charged as this one. The reason is the war in the Ukrainewhich forms the large parenthesis.

Even the list of participants is no longer 100% secure after the American president Joe Biden just fell off the bike. The president was in good shape, it was said after the fact. But as Biden virtually fell from a standing start, speculation about his fitness has once again been raised. Officially, however, there was no indication in Berlin that Biden would not go to the summit. Chancellor Olaf Scholz always waiting beside him Britain Prime Minister Boris Johnson, of France President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Italy Prime Minister Mario Draghi as well as Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The format is completed by the EUrepresented by Council President Charles Michel and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

G7 summit in Elmau: “Ukraine is an absolute priority”

“Ukraine is of course one of the main priorities,” government circles said on Monday. The war in the middle of Europe dominates everything, the G7 summit from Sunday to Tuesday will bring together under this parenthesis all the areas that are usually on the agenda of such events: world economy, energy, climate, health, civil society . No development in any of these areas can be imagined without Ukraine. As we know, war has an impact on gas supply, and the G7 will discuss whether nuclear energy can be an alternative. A fascinating debate, since France, a nuclear country, has a different attitude from Germany, a country of exit, while Japan, with its experiences of the Fukushima reactor disaster, is somewhere in between.

On energy, the G7 wants to talk about the use of coal. This brings heads of state and government to the climate (because burning fossil fuels throws ambitious CO2 targets overboard) and the international climate club. Its foundation dates back to when Scholz was still Minister of Finance. The SPD politician wants to give the lame implementation of the Paris agreement on climate protection additional international impetus and this is where the G7 arrives at the latest in the global economy, because without companies, the climate can no longer be saved. So one topic leads to another at the meeting, there are individual items on the agenda, but the G7 process is fluid. Chancellor Scholz will set further accents when he meets each G7 participant for a one-on-one discussion.

Volodymyr Zelenskyj is connected to the G7 summit

The G7 partner countries will join the summit on Monday: Senegal, South Africa, India, Indonesia and Argentina. Senior government officials speak of an “invitation policy” when referring to this guest list, as countries do not come to Elmau by accident. Here, too, the Ukrainian war is in the background Russia far from the West both diplomatically and economically. The Kremlin is currently working intensively on alternatives, which include good relations with Africa and here in particular with the African Union – hence the G7 invitation for Senegal, whose president has been chairing the AU for a year since February. Russia and China are already close, so it makes sense to invite India to the G7. The number of attempts to pull the giant country to the side of the West is high. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was only in Berlin at the beginning of May. Also on Monday will be the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky connected at the top.

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This year’s G7 is also unusual as it is part of a series of other summits, all of which are interrelated and also focus on the major issue of the war in Ukraine. There is the EU-Western Balkans summit on June 23, which will be complicated by Ukraine’s membership prospects. Because the six candidates for EU membership in the Western Balkans feel that kyiv receives preferential treatment and are unhappy. The bad mood risks rubbing off on the European summit which will immediately follow and during which Ukraine’s candidate status will be voted on.

All 27 Member States must be in favor of it, otherwise the plan will fail. A unanimous vote is by no means certain, which would in turn harm the atmosphere of the G7 summit and the NATO summit on June 29 and 30 in Madrid. These are the admission of Finland and Sweden into the military alliance and the protection of the Baltic States. These too are known to be reactions to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.