(Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Boris Johnson is getting ready to meet Joe Biden for the first time ahead of the Group of Seven summit that the U.K. is hosting. Leaders will discuss Covid, China and climate, and a draft communique seen by Bloomberg shows them committing to 1 billion extra doses of vaccines over the next year to try and end the pandemic.
The U.K. wants to set the tone for its global status after leaving the European Union though there are plenty of tensions over its post-Brexit trading arrangements for Northern Ireland that could bubble over into the meeting.
Key Developments:
- Draft communique sets climate finance goals, asks for new study on original of virus
- Biden and Johnson will promise to open up U.K.-U.S. travel but Brexit will come up too
- This is Angela Merkel’s last G-7 and she has rethought the translatlantic relationship
Big Read: Attending Her Last G-7, Merkel Has Had Enough of U.S. Leadership
All times are local (BST).
Will U.S. issue a formal demarche? Seems not (8:41 a.m.)
The U.S. is giving the same message in private as in public over its concerns about Britain’s handling of the post-Brexit situation in Northern Ireland, a Biden administration official said Thursday. The official said the U.S. isn’t planning to issue any diplomatic rebuke to the U.K. over Northern Ireland, disputing a report in a British newspaper.
Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, on Wednesday objected to Britain’s handling of the post-Brexit situation in Northern Ireland. “President Biden has been crystal clear about his rock solid belief in the Good Friday Agreement as the foundation for peaceful coexistence in Northern Ireland that agreement needs to be protected, and any steps that imperil or undermine it will not be welcomed by the United States,” Sullivan said. -- Jennifer Jacobs
EU chiefs back call for investigation on Covid origins (8:20 a.m.)
European Union leaders supported a push for an investigation into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic on the eve of the summit. “The world has the right to know exactly what happened in order to be able to learn the lessons and we will support all efforts for transparency,” Charles Michel, head of the European Council, told reporters. Ursula von der Leyen, chief of the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said: “The investigators need complete access to whatever is necessary to find the source of this pandemic.” She added that investigation teams need access to information and to sites. -- John Follain
G-7 still mulling how ambitious they will get on climate (8 a.m.)
Whatever is agreed by G-7 leaders on climate action will have to ultimately go beyond the group of like-minded countries gathered in Cornwall, and bring China on board if there is to be a global deal at this year’s Group of 20 summit and at the United Nations COP26 climate change conference, a diplomat familiar with the discussions said.
It will be important that G-7 leaders are firm on values while being practical when it comes to the climate process, they said. Italy’s Mario Draghi is among the European leaders keen to anchor the talks on pragmatic outcomes.
Biden comes to Cornwall pledging 500 million Pfizer shots (earlier)
Biden has landed and he is set to take on any criticism that the U.S. hoarded vaccine shots. According to a U.S. official, the U.S. plans to buy 500 million doses of Pfizer Inc.’s coronavirus vaccine to share internationally. What remains unclear is if this accounts for half of the 1 billion extra doses that the G-7 is poised to commit to distributing worldwide. The senior officials putting together the document have outlined a plan to end the Covid-19 pandemic by December 2022.
The U.S. government will buy about 200 million doses this year to distribute through Covax, the World Health Organization-backed initiative aimed at securing an equitable global distribution of the vaccine, and about 300 million doses in the first half of next year, said a person familiar with the matter. The companies confirmed the deal in a statement Thursday. -- Justin Sink
How are united are the Europeans coming into this summit? (earlier)
The power dynamics among the Europeans are going to be fascinating to watch. This is the first big post-Brexit summit for Johnson, who wants to launch “Global Britain” as a force on the international stage. Angela Merkel, the real veteran of these summits, is genuinely relieved not to have to deal with Donald Trump anymore, but she has her doubts about Biden and believes Europe needs to stand up more for itself. Expect her to pair up with Draghi, a new heavyweight making his G-7 debut, and Emmanuel Macron, the French president who likes to make a splash, to deliver that message to the Americans. -- Arne Delfs
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
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