G8 France 2011

France hosted the 2011 G8 Summit in Deauville on 26 and 27 May. On the agenda was security, development, climate, nuclear energy and the Arab Spring.

Joanna Rea, Bond International Advocacy Officer, tweeted from the summit.

David Cameron speaking at G8

Official outcome documents

Read a summary of all NGO reactions here (The Sherpa Times)

May 27, 3pm: David Cameron press conference at the G8 summit: strong support for UK aid and development commitments.
- Prime Minister David Cameron offered a strong defense of the UK's aid commitments. In response to a press question, the Prime Minister noted that promises should be kept and while he is unable to make other governments meet their aid commitment, the UK will not break the promises it has made to the world's poor. He argued that spending 0.7% of national income on aid was not too high a price to save lives and ensure and better world and he outlined why aid will deliver a stronger and safer UK in the future.
- On IMF leadership, the Prime Minister noted that the current French Finance Minister, Christine Lagarde, is a strong candidate with strong support, including from the UK, and he suggested that there is a good case to be made for the next head of the IMF to be a European, given the current financial situation in Europe.
- Aside from the one question on aid (as above), all of press questions focused on the current situation in Libya.

12pm: The G8 Deauville Declaration, Renewed Commitment for Freedom and Democracy, has been released. Read the full document

May 27, 9am: Day 2 of the G8 summit. Today's agenda is focused on G8 partnership with Africa and G8 partnership with Arab states. We're expecting declarations on both, as well as the official summit communiqué.
- Some civil society reactions from Oxfam, World Vision and GCAP

G8 press conference

May 26, 3pm: Coverage and conversations at the G8 dominated by events in Serbia
- Press conference with President Sarkozy - these are the highlights:
  - Events in Libya have dominated both the bilateral meetings and the plenary discussions.
  - On nuclear energy - most G8 countries believe that there is no alternative to nuclear and agree that safety is more important than cost. At the same time, G8 countries are committed to making the Chernobyl site safe.
  - On IMF governance, President Sarkozy reaffirmed France's commitment to multilateralism, stating that it was not the role of the G8 to select the new head of the IMF. However, he believes that the role should be filled by a European.
  - Commenting on climate change, President Sarkozy noted the importance of a post Kyoto framework and reaching agreement at the CoP 18 climate change conference in Durban later this year.

May 26, 1pm: The 2011 G8 Summit has started in Deauville, France.
- Leaders have arrived, official walkabout and photos are done.
- The agenda for day 1 (official descriptions): Solidarity with Japan (working lunch), Nuclear Safety, Climate Change Cooperation with Emerging Countries, The Internet and The Arab Springs (working dinner)
- There are about 30 international development NGOs here: Bond members include ActionAid, Transparency International, Save the Children, ONE, Oxfam and World Vision.
- Other partners here include Coordination Sud, the National Platform of French Development NGOs and InterAction, the National Platform of US Development NGOs.

May 18: The G8 publishes its second accountability report. Read the full report here
- ActionAid reaction and ActionAid's own G8 Accountability report
- Oxfam reaction
- Malaria No More reaction
- ONE reaction
May 15: ONE launches its 2011 DATA report
February: Global civil society letter to the G8 Health experts working group here