Why G7+2? It’s all about the EU

At the Sicily summit, Tusk and Juncker try to represent the little guys and fly the flag for multilateralism.

TAORMINA, Sicily — When leaders of the world’s major industrialized democracies gather once a year for a high-level schmooze-fest, they do so under the moniker of the G7, global diplomacy’s most exclusive club. The actual summits, however, always include plus two — from the EU — to make it nine.

The participation of the EU’s top leaders, currently European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, is typically explained by the vast size of its single economic market, comprised of some 500 million people.

But Tusk and Juncker’s crucial, often little-noticed role is not just to represent a big market but also the smaller countries within it — nations such as Estonia, Malta and Cyprus — that don’t have their own seat at the table. At these swanky shindigs for big powers, their presence is a reminder that the EU operates collectively and might does not always make right.

“Many of the issues that are discussed at G7 level, for our EU member states, these are issues of [European] Community competence,” said a senior EU official who is part of the delegation to Sicily.

“Although our big players are here around the table, they cannot represent the European Union, for example, on trade, because trade is not a national competence.”

Put another way, Tusk and Juncker sit around the table as a reminder that the EU is as much about ceding power as consolidating it in a bloc. In some cases, as with the United Kingdom, this has been a source of deep frustration, one of the key factors in Brexit.

And yet, there is still substantial power in consensus. Britain may be leaving the EU but Prime Minister Theresa May has been stressing the U.K.’s commitment to free trade and the Paris accord on climate change — the two issues that emerged as major sources of contention between U.S. President Donald Trump and everyone else here in Sicily.

With Trump and Brexit posing new and uncertain challenges, the joint press conference Tusk and Juncker normally hold before the start of the summit drew a large crowd Friday. They used that platform to push the EU’s fundamental priorities, which include the very idea of multilateralism itself.

“We will stand up here — as we are always doing — for our shared values of freedom, democracy, the rule of law, and respect for human rights,” Juncker said. “We do believe as Europeans in open societies and we are always seeking multilateral solutions.”

And, in a thinly veiled jab Trump, he said: “We want to build bridges, not walls.”

Juncker, however, also offered an olive branch.”We have to understand those — in Europe and elsewhere — who do not see how globalization works for them,” he said.

Tusk took a slightly darker view, stressing the urgent need for unity among the major powers, who seem to find increasing sources of disagreement.

“There is no doubt that this will be the most challenging G7 summit in years,” Tusk said, noting the divergences on trade and climate change.

“Most importantly, unity needs to be maintained when it comes to defending the rules-based international order,” Tusk continued, adding: “If our group is not determined and united enough, the situation in the world can really get out of hand.”

The senior EU official said that one reason Tusk and Juncker pushed to get out in front was that four of the seven national leaders were attending their very first G7 summit. “So, for us, what matters is that what we stand for is not neglected with these new people around,” the official said. “Multilateralism, fair trade, climate: these are the issues we want to keep seeing at the heart of the global agenda.”

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