The G7 isolates itself in a Bavarian castle to discuss the war in Ukraine and its consequences

Elmau Castle where the leaders of the G7 meet this Sunday June 26, near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, photographed on June 23, 2022. REUTERS - WOLFGANG RATTAY

Text by: RFI Follow

3 mins

The leaders of the G7, the club of the richest countries on the planet, are meeting this Sunday in Germany in a postcard setting, at Elmau Castle, an isolated luxury hotel at the foot of the Bavarian Alps, far from the demonstrators who pounded the pavement on Saturday in Munich to demand stronger action against global warming.

If it will be a question of the climate and the food crisis which is preparing, it is indeed the war in Ukraine which will be at the heart of the discussions.

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With our special correspondent in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, 

There is no doubt that the war in Ukraine will be at the center of this summit, which comes just over five months after the start of the conflict, and while fighting is raging in the Donbass.

Ahead of the meeting, which is due to last until Tuesday, the American administration has indicated that it wishes to take advantage of the summit to exert more pressure on Moscow, but without specifying what measures could be announced. 

A “Marshall Plan” for Ukraine?

In Paris, the Élysée made it known that the G7 was not the place to decide on new sanctions, but to coordinate them and ensure that they will not be circumvented.

More than weapons or new sanctions, funding to support the country could be announced.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke this week of a “Marshall Plan” for Ukraine. 

Gathered around their counterpart, the French, Italian, Japanese, Canadian, American and British leaders should also send a message of solidarity to Ukraine: in essence, even if the conflict takes hold, there is no no weariness in the West, and there is no flaw in the support given to Ukraine. 

metal fence

The choice of a hotel withdrawn from the world owes nothing to chance.

The German authorities want at all costs to avoid repeating the nightmarish scenario of the G20 summit in Hamburg in 2017, which was dominated by violence on a rare scale in Germany.

In Elmau, a metal fence 16 km long and up to three meters high has been erected in recent weeks to prevent access to possible protesters.

Russia, which has not been invited to the G7 since 2014 and the annexation of Crimea, will nevertheless be omnipresent because the conflict in Ukraine is at the heart of the two other major subjects of this summit: the energy crisis and the fear of shortages. food.

There will of course be a question of the rise in agricultural prices, a consequence of the war in Ukraine.

In this context, the NGO One, co-founded by singer Bono of the group U2, is sounding the alarm.

Six of the ten countries most affected by food insecurity are in Africa, according to a study published by the NGO: Sudan, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Somalia and Mauritania.

And for Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, the director of One France, it is urgent to come to their aid. 

We are making an urgent appeal to the G7 countries to take a number of measures, such as removing barriers to the export of basic necessities, fully funding emergency humanitarian aid appeals, even creating a humanitarian corridor through the Black Sea to facilitate grain exports from Ukraine.

Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, director of One France

Pierre Firtion

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• G7

• Germany

• Ukraine

• Olaf Scholz