G8 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ G8 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search "Group of Eight" redirects here. For the Australian league of universities, see Group of Eight (Australian universities). For other uses, see G8 (disambiguation) and G7 (disambiguation).Group of EightGroupe des HuitGruppe der AchtGruppo degli Otto主要国首脳会議Большая восьмёрка  CanadaPrime Minister Stephen Harper FrancePresident Nicolas Sarkozy GermanyChancellor Angela Merkel ItalyPrime Minister Silvio Berlusconi JapanPrime Minister Yasuo FukudaPresident of the G8 for 2008 RussiaPresident Dmitry Medvedev United KingdomPrime Minister Gordon Brown United StatesPresident George W. BushAlso represented European Union[1]President José Manuel BarrosoPresident Nicolas SarkozyThe Group of Eight (G8, and formerly the (G6) or Group of Six) is an international forum for the governments of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union (but the EU does not have the right to host or chair a meeting).[1] The G8 can refer to the member states or to the annual summit meeting of the G8 heads of government. The former term G6 is now frequently applied to the six most populous countries within the European Union (see G6 (EU)). G8 ministers also meet throughout the year, such as the G7/8 finance ministers (who meet four times a year), G8 foreign ministers or G8 environment ministers.Each calendar year, the responsibility of hosting the G8 rotates 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. Lately, both France and the United Kingdom have expressed a desire to expand the group and include five developing countries, referred to as the Outreach Five (O5) or the Plus Five: Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa. These countries have participated as guests in previous meetings, which are sometimes called G8+5.Contents1 History2 Structure and activities2.1 Global warming and energy3 Annual summit4 Cumulative influence of member nations5 Criticism and demonstrations6 See also7 Notes, links, and references7.1 External links7.2 References7.3 Footnotes//[edit] History  The first G6 meeting in RambouilletThe concept of a forum for the world's major industrialized democracies emerged following the 1973 oil crisis and subsequent global recession. In 1974 the United States created the Library Group, an informal gathering of senior financial officials from the United States, the United Kingdom, West Germany, Japan and France. In 1975, French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing invited the heads of government from West Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States to a summit in Rambouillet. The six leaders agreed to an annual meeting organized under a rotating presidency, forming the Group of Six (G6). The following year, Canada joined the group at the behest of Germany's Chancellor Helmut Schmidt and U.S. President Gerald Ford[2] and the group became the 'Group of Seven' -or G7. The European Union is 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. The President of the European Commission has attended all meetings since it was first invited by the United Kingdom in 1977[3] and the Council President now also regularly attends.The Cold War with the Soviet Union ended and the country's dissolution in 1991, Russia became the successor state. From the 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 United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President Bill Clinton[4], Russia formally joined the group in 1997, resulting in the 'Group of Eight' - the G8. In August 2008, there were calls from some original G7 states that Russia to be expelled over its actions in the former Soviet republic of Georgia and its threats of open nuclear strike against Poland.[edit] Structure and activities Leaders of the G8 on June 7, 2007, in Heiligendamm, GermanyThe G8 is intended to be an informal forum, and it therefore 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. In 2008, the G8 summit might have been called the G9 because the President of the European Union Commission participated as an equal in all summit events.The presidency of the group rotates annually among the member countries, with each new term beginning on January 1 of the year. 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. Japan held the G8 presidency in 2008, and Italy would be president in 2009.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, labour, 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": Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa.In June 2005, justice ministers and interior ministers from the G8 countries agreed to launch an international database on pedophiles.[5] The G8 officials also agreed to pool data on terrorism, subject to restrictions by privacy and security laws in individual countries.[6][edit] Global warming and energyMain articles: International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation and Climate Investment FundsAt the Heiligendamm Summit in 2007, the G8 acknowledged a proposal from the EU for a worldwide initiative on energy efficiency. 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. [7]G8 Finance Ministers, whilst in preparation for the 34th Summit of the G8 Heads of State and Government in Toyako, Hokkaido, met on the 13th and 14th 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. [8][edit] Annual summit At the 34th G8 Summit at Toyako, Hokkaido, formal photo during Tanabata matsuri event for world leaders -- Silvio Berlusconi (Italy), Dimitry Medvedev (Russia), Angela Merkel (Germany), Gordon Brown (UK), Yasuo Fukuda (Japan), George Bush (US), Stephen Harper (Canada), Nicolas Sarkozy (France), Jose Barosso (EU) -- July 7, 2008.The annual G8 leaders summit is attended by eight of the world's most powerful heads of government. But more than one analyst suggests that a G-8 summit is not the place to flesh out the details of any difficult or controversial policy issue in the context of a three-day event. Rather, the meeting offers an opportunity to bring a range of complex and sometimes inter-related issues. The G8 summit brings leaders together not so they can dream up quick fixes, but to talk and think about them together.[9]The G8 summit is an international event which is observed and reported by news media, but the G8's relevance is unclear.[10] The member country holding the G8 presidency is responsible for organising and hosting the year's summit, held for three days in mid-year; and for this reason, Tony Blair and the United Kingdom accumulated the lion's share of the credit for what went right (and wrong) at Gleneagles in 2005. Similarly, Yasuo Fukuda and Japan hope to garner the greater part of the credit for what went well (and what did not) at the Hokkaido Summit in 2008.Each of the 34 G8 summit meetings could have been called a success if only the events has been re-framed as venues to generate additional momentum for solving problems at the other multilateral conferences that meet throughout the year. The G8 summit sets the stage for what needs to be done and establishes an idea of how to do it, even if that idea is, at best, rough and patchy.[9]DateHost countryHost leaderLocation heldWebsiteNotes1stNovember 15–17, 1975 FranceValéry Giscard d'EstaingRambouilletG6 Summit2ndJune 27–28, 1976 United StatesGerald R. FordSan Juan, Puerto RicoCanada joins the group, forming the G73rdMay 7–8, 1977 United KingdomJames CallaghanLondonPresident of the European Commission gains permission to join G-7 Summit annually4thJuly 16–17, 1978 West GermanyHelmut SchmidtBonn, North Rhine-Westphalia5thJune 28–29, 1979 JapanMasayoshi OhiraTokyo6thJune 22–3, 1980 ItalyFrancesco CossigaVenice7thJuly 20–21, 1981 CanadaPierre E. TrudeauMontebello, Quebec8thJune 4–6, 1982 FranceFrançois MitterrandVersailles9thMay 28–30, 1983 United StatesRonald ReaganWilliamsburg, Virginia10thJune 7–9, 1984 United KingdomMargaret ThatcherLondon11thMay 2–4, 1985 West GermanyHelmut KohlBonn, North Rhine-Westphalia12thMay 4–6, 1986 JapanYasuhiro NakasoneTokyo13thJune 8–10, 1987 ItalyAmintore FanfaniVenice14thJune 19–21, 1988 CanadaBrian MulroneyToronto, Ontario15thJuly 14–16, 1989 FranceFrançois MitterrandGrande Arche, Paris16thJuly 9–11, 1990 United StatesGeorge H. W. BushHouston, Texas17thJuly 15–17, 1991 United KingdomJohn MajorLondon18thJuly 6–8, 1992 GermanyHelmut KohlMunich, Bavaria19thJuly 7–9, 1993 JapanKiichi MiyazawaTokyo20thJuly 8–10, 1994 ItalySilvio BerlusconiNaples21stJune 15–17, 1995 CanadaJean ChrétienHalifax, Nova Scotia22ndJune 27–29, 1996 FranceJacques ChiracLyonInternational organizations' debut to G8 Summits periodically. The invited ones here were: United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization.[11]23rdJune 20–22, 1997 United StatesBill ClintonDenver, Colorado[1]Russia joins the group, forming G824thMay 15–17, 1998 United KingdomTony BlairBirmingham, England[2]25thJune 18–20, 1999 GermanyGerhard SchröderCologne, North Rhine-WestphaliaFirst Summit of the G20 industrial nations at Berlin26thJuly 21–23, 2000 JapanYoshiro MoriNago, Okinawa[3]Formation of the G8+5 starts, when South Africa was invited. Since then, 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, too.[11]27thJuly 20–22, 2001 ItalySilvio BerlusconiGenoa[4]Leaders from Bangladesh, Mali and El Salvador accepted their invitations here.[11]28thJune 26–27, 2002 CanadaJean ChrétienKananaskis, Alberta[5]Russia gains permission to officially host a G8 Summit.29thJune 2–3, 2003 FranceJacques ChiracÉvian-les-Bains[6]The G8+5 was unofficially made, when China, India, Brazil and Mexico were invited to this Summit for the first time. Other first-time nations that were invited by the French president included: Egypt, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Switzerland.[11]30thJune 8–10, 2004 United StatesGeorge W. BushSea Island, Georgia[7]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.[11]31stJuly 6–8, 2005 United KingdomTony BlairGleneagles, Scotland[8]The G8+5 was officially formed. Nations that were invited for the first time were Ethiopia and Tanzania. The African Union and the International Energy Agency made their debut here.[11]32ndJuly 15–17, 2006 RussiaVladimir PutinStrelna, St. Petersburg[9]First G8 Summit on Russian soil. Also, the International Atomic Energy Agency and UNESCO made their debut here.[11]33rdJune 6–8, 2007 GermanyAngela MerkelHeiligendamm, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern[10]A record 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.[11]34thJuly 7–9, 2008 JapanYasuo FukudaToyako (Lake Toya), Hokkaido[11]Nations that accepted their G8 Summit invitations for the first time are: Australia, Indonesia and South Korea.[11]35th2009 ItalySilvio BerlusconiLa Maddalena[12]36th2010 CanadaHuntsville, Ontario[13]37th2011 France38th2012 United States39th2013 United Kingdom40th2014 Russia41st2015 Germany42nd2016 Japan43rd2017 Italy44th2018 Canada[edit] Cumulative influence of member nationsTogether, the G8 countries represent about 65% of the Gross World Product[12], the majority of global military power (seven are in the top 8 nations for military expenditure[13]), and almost all of the world's active nuclear weapons.[14]The eight countries making up the G8 represent about 14% of the world population, but they account for 65% of the world's economic output measured by gross domestic product, all 8 within the top 11 countries according to the CIA World Factbook. (see the CIA World Factbook column in List of countries by GDP (nominal))In 2007, the combined G8 military spending was US$850 billion. This was 72% of the world's total military expenditures. (see List of countries and federations by military expenditures) Four of the G8 members United Kingdom, United States of America, France and Russia together account for 96-99% of the world's nuclear weapons. (see List of states with nuclear weapons)[edit] Criticism and demonstrations Protesters try to stop members of the G8 from attending the summit during the 27th G8 summit in Genoa, Italy by burning vehicles on the main route to the summitAs the annual summits are extremely high profile, they are subject to extensive lobbying by advocacy groups and street demonstrations by activists.The most well-known criticisms center on the assertion that members of G8 are responsible for global issues such as poverty in Africa and developing countries due to debt and trading policy, global warming due to carbon dioxide emission, the AIDS problem due to strict medicine patent policy and other issues related to globalization. During the 31st G8 summit in Scotland, 250,000 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. [15]Of the anti-globalization movement protests, one of the largest and most violent occurred for the 27th G8 summit [14]. Since that G8 Summit and the subsequent September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States occurred months apart in the same year, the G8 have gathered at some forms of remote locations every year since then. The 7 July 2005 London bombings were timed to coincide with the 31st G8 summit in Scotland.The group has also been criticised for its membership; which has now become unrepresentative of the worlds most powerful economies since Canada was overtaken by Spain and China in terms of nominal GDP. Furthermore, Russia was allowed into the group despite only being in 11th place, behind countries such as Brazil. It could be argued that this is because Russia's oil and gas reserves make it a greater player on the world stage than Brazil despite having a lower overall wealth. For more information, see List of countries by GDP (nominal).[edit] See also34th G8 summit (information on the most recent summit)G7G8+5 Climate Change DialogueAnti-globalizationG8 research group—University of Toronto, CanadaDeveloping 8 Countries (D8)Forum for the Future G8 meeting on Middle East reformG11, a group of eleven developing countriesG20 industrial nationsG20 developing nationsG33J8List of countries and federations by military expendituresList of countries by GDPSenior G8 leaderWorld Social ForumN-11BRIC[edit] Notes, links, and references[edit] External linksFor the official summit websites, see the applicable article, e.g. 34th G8 summit. Wikinews has related news:G8G8 Information Centre, G8 Research Group, University of TorontoG8: The World Can't Wait!, "Oxfam International G8 Blog", oxfam.org"Special Report: G8", Guardian Unlimited"Profile: G8", BBC News"We are deeply concerned. Again", New Statesman, 4 July 2005, —G8 development concerns since 1977"G8 Dossier" by the Internationalist Review, —On-line dossier with analysis, photo series and links on G8 protestsFACTBOX - Climate Change High on G8 Agenda In Japan (Planet Ark).G8 Reaches Tentative Climate Change Deal.Anti G8, Anti globalization Forum at www.3monkeyz.netOfficial G8 sites of member states (not summit specific)CanadaUnited KingdomHistory of the G8 —UK government site[edit] References This Article and section does not cite any references or sources.Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (July 2008)This article needs additional citations for verification.Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2008)[edit] Footnotes^ a b The EU has the privileges and obligations of membership but does not host/chair summits. It is represented by the Commission and Council Presidents. 967. "EU and the G8". European Commission. Retrieved on 2007-09-25.^ G8: The Most Exclusive Club in the World, Thomas S. Axworthy, The Canadian Encyclopedia, Historica Foundation of Canada, Toronto, Undated.Accessed07-12-2008.^ "EU and the G8". European Union. Retrieved on 2006-07-17.^ Russia — Odd Man Out in the G-8, Mark Medish, The Globalist, 02-24-2006.Accessed: 07-12-2008]^ G8 to launch international pedophile database David Batty June 18, 2005 The Guardian^ G8 to pool data on terrorism Martin Wainwright June 18, 2005 The Guardian^ The International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation (IPEEC). June 8, 2008.^ CLIMATE-L.ORG: G8 Finance Ministers Support Climate Investment Funds^ a b Feldman, Adam. "What's Wrong With The G-8," Forbes (New York). July 7, 2008.^ Lee, Don. "On eve of summit, G-8's relevance is unclear," Los Angeles Times. July 6, 2008.^ a b c d e f g h i Kirton, John. [http://www.g8.utoronto.ca/scholar/kirton-performance-080717.pdf "A Summit of Substantial Success: The Performance of the 2008 G8"; page 88 and 89] G8 Information Centre - University of Toronto July 17, 2008.^ United Nations Development Programme^ "World Wide Military Expenditures". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved on 2007-12-10.^ "The G8 and the Nuclear Industry". The Campaign for Nuclear Phaseout (June 2002). Retrieved on 2007-11-28.^ David Miller 'Spinning the G8, Zednet May 13th 2005 http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/6279v • d • eGroup of Eight (G8)Members Canada • France • Germany • Italy • Japan • Russia • United Kingdom • United StatesAdditional representative European Unionv • d • eG8 Leaders Stephen Harper · Nicolas Sarkozy · Angela Merkel · Silvio Berlusconi · Yasuo Fukuda · Dmitry Medvedev · Gordon Brown · George W. Bushv • d • eG8 Foreign Ministers David Emerson · Bernard Kouchner · Frank-Walter Steinmeier · Franco Frattini · Masahiko Kōmura · Sergey Lavrov · David Miliband · Condoleezza Ricev • d • eG8 Finance Ministers Jim Flaherty · Christine Lagarde · Peer Steinbrück · Giulio Tremonti · Bunmei Ibuki · Alexei Kudrin · Alistair Darling · Henry Paulsonv • d • eG8 Defence Ministers Peter MacKay · Hervé Morin · Franz Josef Jung · Ignazio La Russa · Yoshimasa Hayashi · Anatoliy Serdyukov · Des Browne · Robert Gatesv • d • eG8 Justice Ministers Rob Nicholson · Rachida Dati · Brigitte Zypries · Angelino Alfano · Kunio Hatoyama · Alexandr Konovalov · Jack Straw · Michael Mukaseyv • d • eG8 Interior Ministers Stockwell Day · Michèle Alliot-Marie · Wolfgang Schäuble · Roberto Maroni · Hiroya Masuda · Rashid Nurgaliyev · Jacqui Smith · Michael Chertoffv • d • ePower in international relationsTypes of powerPower (sociology) · Soft power · Hard power · Political power (Machtpolitik • Realpolitik)Types of power statusMiddle power · Regional power · Great power · Superpower (Potential superpowers · Energy superpower) · HyperpowerGeopoliticsAfrican Century · American Century · Asian Century · British Century · Chinese Century · European Century · Indian Century · Pacific CenturyTheory and historyHistorical powers · Polarity in international relations · Power projection · Power transition theory · Second superpower · Superpower collapse · Superpower disengagementOrganizations and groupsG8 · G8+5 · BRI(M)C · Next Eleven · SCO · NATO · ANZUSRetrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G8" Categories: G8 | International organizations | Diplomatic conferences | Country classificationsHidden categories: Articles lacking sources from July 2008 | All articles lacking sources | Articles needing additional references from July 2008 Views Article Discussion Edit this page History Personal tools Log in / create account if (window.isMSIE55) fixalpha(); Navigation Main page Contents Featured content Current events Random article Search Interaction About Wikipedia Community portal Recent changes Contact Wikipedia Donate to Wikipedia Help Toolbox What links here Related changesUpload fileSpecial pages Printable version Permanent linkCite this page Languages Afrikaans العربية Asturianu বাংলা Беларуская (тарашкевіца) Bosanski Български Català Česky Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Gaeilge Gaelg Galego 한국어 हिन्दी Hrvatski Ido Bahasa Indonesia Íslenska Italiano עברית ქართული Kurdî / كوردی Latina Latviešu Lëtzebuergesch Lietuvių Líguru Magyar Македонски മലയാളം मराठी Bahasa Melayu Монгол Nederlands 日本語 Norsk (bokmål) Norsk (nynorsk) Occitan ភាសាខ្មែរ Polski Português Română Русский Shqip Sicilianu Simple English Slovenčina Српски / Srpski Srpskohrvatski / Српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Tagalog தமிழ் Tarandíne ไทย Tiếng Việt Türkçe Українська اردو 吴语 中文   This page was last modified on 17 August 2008, at 05:48. 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