ITALY 8-10 July 2009 Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi hosts G8 summit

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi hosts the leaders of the G8 group of rich nations at the earthquake-hit town of L'Aquila. The economic meltdown will top an agenda that includes climate, energy and trade. United States President Barak Obama can expect a lecture on the need to adopt regulations to prevent economic catastrophes.

The 2009 G8 is a red flag for the global protest movement, but activists will be hard-pressed to get near the G8 leaders. Italy is wary of a replay of the protest accompanying the G8 summit in Genoa in 2001 - one of the most violent in G8 history.

G8 members France and Germany complained on 26 Sep that the current financial crisis would leave important marks on the world economy. German Chancellor Angela Merkel accused the Bush administration of mishandling Wall Street, and said its refusal to adopt stricter rules led to the current crisis. She renewed her calls for an “international framework” to regulate financial market and promote transparency. Many European countries, she said, had already imposed stringent conditions on their banking sectors. French President Nicolas Sarkozy declared that 'laissez-faire' capitalism is finished. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told the BBC: "People were taking risks that were excessive ... in America, and we are paying a price for what has come out of America."

The other four G-8 members are Canada, Italy, Japan and Russia.

President Dmitry Medvedev of G8 member Russia can expect more chiding for his country's invasion of Georgia in Aug 2008.

According to the University of Toronto, which follows G8 proceedings closely, the main issues in 2009 pick up on 2008 agenda topics. The leaders are likely to be pressed to direct trade officials responsible for the WTO Doha negotiations to advance their discussions on climate-related issues, with an emphasis on eliminating trade barriers to the spread of clean energy technologies. At the 2008 meeting the leaders agreed to continue to work together to promote the success of the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference in December 2009, when the UN negotiations launched in Dec 2007 in Indonesia are set to conclude. UPDATED Apr/09

RELATED READING:

Italy's G8 plans - University of Toronto
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:nyYsleQIY_0J:www.g8.utoronto.ca/evaluations/2009italy/2009plans/2009-g8plans-080731.pdf+G-8+2009+summit+date&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us

G20
http://www.g20.org/G20/