The G7 of the Heads of State and Government has not yet begun but it has already created confusion among the chancelleries. Not on the main dossiers, such as theUkraine or Gaza, on which the consensus among the Big Ones seems unanimous, and not even on the use of Russian assets to finance the war in Kiev which sees different approaches between the EU and the USA. But on right to abortion.
According to European sources, in the latest draft of the final declaration of the Borgo Egnazia summit, the point in which the Seven underlined the importance of guaranteeing “effective and safe access to abortion” has disappeared.
The reference was supposed to reinforce – as France and Canada above all requested – the final communiqué of the G7 in Hiroshima a year ago, which instead spoke of “legal and safe access”. In the evening, sources from the Italian presidency then specified that the Sherpaat work in Puglia as of Monday, they are still negotiating and that “everything that will enter into the final document will be a final point resulting from the negotiations”. None of the Seven, the Italian sources underlined, replying to the rumors leaked in “press organs”, has asked to “eliminate” the point on abortion from the draft, in which the reference to the gender equality.
But the continuation of negotiations demonstrates at least a difference in political sensitivities on the issue. With the'Italy Of Giorgia Meloni which decided to strengthen the opening of the clinics to associations Pro Lifeand the France Of Emmanuel Macron – now grappling with its most serious political crisis – which in March instead included, with a bipartisan yes, the right to abortion in Constitution. While Joe Biden has made women's freedom of choice threatened by Donald Trumpone of the battlegrounds of the electoral campaign in view of the November vote.
Already last April the topic had been the subject of a distant back and forth between the French president and the prime minister, while the European Parliament outgoing had approved the request to include abortion in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The rumors of a possible pen on the topic from the final declaration triggered immediate reactions, including internal ones, from PD to +Europe who denounce an attack on women's rights by the government.
On the eve of the opening of the meetings of the heads of state and governments, the determination of the Seven to reaffirm the political and military support to the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, who will speak on the first day of work. From the rumors that emerge on the final draft, released by Bloombergthere is a commitment to “increase the production and delivery” of weapons to Kiev, and a harsh call to China so that he stops supporting the war of Vladimir Putin providing weapons technologies and components, useful for the manufacture of armaments. And as the Moscow ships approach Cuba, leaders will warn Russia itself against “irresponsible” nuclear threats against the West. The anti-Putin alliance will materialize in Borgo Egnazia also with the signing of the security agreement between Ukraine And USAin the bilateral meeting between Zelensky and Biden on the sidelines of the summit, while discussions continue on how to use the profits of the Russian assets frozen in Europe. An issue on which there is political consensus among the adults but which presents technical-legal problems that the Sherpas are trying to resolve until the last minute.
The final draft statement circulated in the media also reiterates the Seven's support for the roadmap for Gaza outlined by Biden, now also supported by the UN Security Council. The G7 will ask Hamas to accept the ceasefire agreement and others Israel to de-escalate a “large-scale military offensive” a Rafahin line with the provisional indications ordered by International Court of Justice in The Hague.
Bilaterals and other meetings
Many bilateral meetings are planned in Borgo Egnazia, starting with Meloni's meeting with Biden on Friday. The president of the United States, the first Catholic after JFK, will also see the Dad, in the first ever of a Pontiff at the G7. Francesco is the guest of honor of the session dedicated toArtificial intelligence, a theme desired by the Prime Minister not without arousing the surprise of some partners who considered it premature. Rumors, drafts, indiscretions will continue to chase each other until the last day, then finding confirmation or denial in a text written in black and white that Giorgia Meloni will explain in the final press conference on Saturday morning.