Brussels, 20 May 2016 European Commission - Fact Sheet
The G7 Summit in Japan on 26 and 27 May 2016: the European Union’s role and actions
This year, the G7 summit will take place from 26 to 27 May in Ise-Shima (Japan). The European Union will be represented by the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, and the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk.
The main topics on the agenda, as set out by this year's Japan presidency, are the global economy, investment, trade, the refugee crisis, climate change and energy, the fight against terrorism, foreign policy and development. Leaders will also discuss several global health policy issues, gender equality and women’s rights.
G7 leaders will take stock of the global economy, and will discuss commitments to further strengthening economic policy responses to the growing global economic uncertainty, including structural, monetary and fiscal measures.
The role of the EU: Despite a more difficult global environment, the EU’s recovery continues. According to the EU’s latest economic forecast (3 May), the economy in all Member States is expected to grow next year – albeit unevenly –; unemployment in Europe is expected to fall below the 10% mark in 2017; and the fiscal outlook is continuing to improve as the general government deficit and the debt-to-GDP ratio will continue to decline gradually in both the euro area and the EU as a whole. As external factors supporting Europe's moderate recovery are fading, domestic sources of growth are gaining in importance. In its Spring 2016 European Semester package, presented on 18 May, the Commission’s country-specific recommendations focused on three priority areas: investment (still low compared to pre-crisis levels but gaining traction, also helped by the Investment Plan for Europe); faster progress on structural reforms (necessary to boost the recovery and raise the long-term growth potential of EU economies); and the need for all Member States to pursue responsible fiscal policies and ensure growth-friendly composition of their budgets.
INVESTMENT
G7 Leaders will address the global demand-supply gap in investment and will help promoting infrastructure investments. They will discuss G7 commitments to invest in areas that contribute to sustainable growth, like green growth, energy and the digital economy.
The role of the EU: the Investment Plan for Europe – Investment is a top priority for the EU. After a take-off in record time, the brand new Investment Plan for Europe “InvestEU” is kick-starting investments of at least €315 billion into the real economy over three years. In less than one year into its existence, the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) has already mobilised more than €100 billion across the European Union. 141,000 small and medium enterprises will already enjoy better access to finance, thanks to the Investment Plan.
The Investment Plan has started to produce structural change. Until now, European investment has often been dominated by a limited number of large, expensive projects. Today, we are starting to see more local projects, which are smaller and more diverse. Public money is mobilising private finance, and supporting structural reforms. We see more interaction between the European Investment Bank and local institutions. In short, we are beginning to see the investment that the market has often failed to deliver.
EFSI is helping to find new treatments for Alzheimer's disease; transforming old industrial sites into new offices; bringing energy efficiency into our homes and cutting our bills; and lending a hand to start-ups who were turned away by other lenders. In more than half of our projects, research and development are pushing the boundaries of what we can achieve.
The money for InvestEU does not solely come from reallocations from the EU budget. EU Member States – as well as non-EU countries – can contribute either at the level of the risk-bearing capacity, through a brand new European Investment Project Portal (EIPP) – the online meeting place for project promotors and investors – or by directly co-financing certain projects and activities. More info on http://ec.europa.eu/invest-eu.
page source http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release
