At the current G7 summit, taking place in the Italian town of Borgo Egnazia, the leaders of the European Union (EU) promised substantial “long-term” aid to Ukraine.
The president of the EU Council, Charles Michel, and other representatives of the participating states reached an agreement, but the technical details still need to be ironed out. Ukraine will receive $50 billion in credits before the end of the year to be able to buy weapons and finance its state budget.
Income from the approximately €230 billion in assets held by an asset management company in Belgium generates five billion euros each year. This money will be used as collateral to finance interest and repayment.
The United States, like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, had pushed for the Russian money to be confiscated. But the Europeans did not want to get involved because they feared a loss of confidence in the European investment market.
President Zelensky, who arrived the day before at the G7 summit hotel in Puglia, southern Italy, from Saudi Arabia, said that the G7 was making very important decisions. On the sidelines of the summit, Zelensky signed two ten-year bilateral security agreements, one with Japan and the other with the United States.
U.S. diplomats said the deal also provided a form of peace of mind in case Donald Trump, a critic of Ukraine, was elected to a second term in the White House at the end of the year.
Georgia Meloni’s strategy
In addition to the flashpoints of Ukraine and the Middle East, G7 leaders want to improve cooperation with Africa. The Italian leader of the G7, the right-wing nationalist Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, once again put Africa at the top of the agenda. Meloni said reliable supply chains are needed for raw materials, energy, and other products from the neighboring continent.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reacts as she attends the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) event on the first day of the G7 summit, in Savelletri, Italy, June 13, 2024. Reuters.
The G7 promised more investments in future industries in Africa. Italy presented a new plan, named after the founder of the Italian oil company Eni, Enrico Mattei.
The “Mattei Plan” is committed to energy production projects in Africa. Italy would act as a distributor and bridge between Africa and Europe. Numerous food security and educational support projects are planned. This new initiative is initially budgeted at €8 billion, a figure that critics have already described as too low. Giorgia Meloni now wants the G7 partners to unite to give more weight to the “Mattei Plan.”
See alsoThe president arrived in Italy where he will give a speech at the G7 Summit In recent years, other projects were launched by France and Germany during their G7 presidencies. In parallel, the European Union’s “Global Gateway” plan aims to target African partners with investment offers that compete with China and Russia.
In addition to the host, Olaf Scholz (Germany), Justin Trudeau (Canada), Emmanuel Macron (France), Joe Biden (United States), Fumio Kishida (Japan) and Rishi Sunak (Great Britain) participate in the Italian summit.
Francisco plans to meet with everyone
Pope Francis will meet with the leaders of Brazil, the United States, France, India and Ukraine on the sidelines of the G7 summit, which is being held in Italy, the Vatican reported this Thursday.
The pope, who in January warned against the “perverse” dangers of artificial intelligence, will participate in leaders’ talks on the new technology on Friday. The pope, who in January warned against the “perverse” dangers of artificial intelligence, will participate in leaders’ talks on the new technology on Friday. The Argentine religious will thus become the first pope to participate in the G7 debates.
In the program of his one-day visit, the Vatican announced that Francis will hold a bilateral meeting with the Catholic president of the United States, Joe Biden.
Likewise, the Vatican indicated that it will also hold individual meetings with the Ukrainian Volodímir Zelensky, the French Emmanuel Macron, the Indian Narendra Modi, the Brazilian Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the Canadian Justin Trudeau, the Turkish Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Kenyan William Ruto, the Algerian Abdelmadjid Tebboune and the director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva.
