No one believed this – Macron made Trump bend

“This has been a great summit,” US President Donald Trump said Wednesday in Évian with a satisfied smile to reporters.

“Several victories”, the French president Emmanuel Macron on the other hand, evaluates the outcome of the G7 meeting on Tuesday evening.

However, in addition to the conference victories, Macron also referred to the French national football team’s first World Cup victory over Senegal (3–1).

Football diplomacy is sometimes surprisingly important in international politics. Finns still remember how the president of Russia Vladimir Putin presented Trump with a soccer ball in Helsinki in 2018 and said the ball is now in Trump’s head.

The chancellor also tried football diplomacy in Évian Friedrich Merzwho presented Trump with a German national team jersey. Trump, who prefers free games, didn’t seem particularly pleased with the gift from Merzi, who has previously criticized the US’s Iran policy, although he smiled politely for the cameras.

Although relations with Merz did not necessarily warm up in France as expected, the Italian prime minister fared better Giorgia Melonin a relationship with which Trump had a falling out some time ago due to comments related to the Pope’s exits and the Iran war. In Évian, however, it became clear that the two have “always been friends”, as Meloni described.

Ball to Putin’s head

Along with the rewarmed relations between Europe and the United States, the joint geopolitical declaration announced at the meeting, in which the G7 countries – including the United States led by Trump – promised to increase military support for Ukraine and tighten sanctions on Russia can be considered a significant meeting victory.

Ukraine now gets the important weapons it needs, produced by the US and paid for by Europe. After this, it can be said that the ball is now in Putin’s court when it comes to peace.

The continuation of support for Ukraine and the promotion of negotiations aimed at a just peace has been one of Europe’s main wishes in the direction of Trump. Now that the Iran war seems to be getting easier, Trump has his sights set on a peace settlement in Ukraine.

After Trump and his administration’s long-standing Europe barking, it is refreshing to watch the cooperation of leading politicians for a change, but as we know, the situation can change.

The Palace of Versailles as a stage

In any case, the geopolitical joint declaration of the G7 countries is a diplomatic victory for France’s Macron, who hosted the meeting, because no similar joint declaration was made at the Canadian meeting last year.

Last year’s meeting in Canada is also remembered for the fact that Trump unexpectedly left the meeting in the middle of everything.

Macron’s tactic to avoid a similar situation was to invite Trump to dinner on Wednesday night at the magnificent Palace of Versailles to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence, and it worked.

The Palace of Versailles was built by the “sun king” Louis XIV. Trump also showed a solar king attitude at the G7 meeting when he marched late to the meeting place on Wednesday and told the other leaders: “I’m the boss.”

The real host of the meeting, Macron, remembered to praise Trump’s actions to resolve the situation in the Middle East. According to him, the agreement between the United States and Iran lays the groundwork for wider stability in the Middle East.

The G7 countries also announced their support for the international maritime security operation led by France and Great Britain, which aims to secure merchant shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. In addition, the countries want to reduce dependence on the critical strait by diversifying energy supply routes.

Consensus on China

Évian sent a message to China that it should not try to take over Taiwan unilaterally and by force, i.e. “to change the regional situation in the East and South China Seas and the Taiwan Strait”. At the same time, peaceful dialogue and an international order based on rules were called for.

China holds the vast majority of the world’s critical minerals. The leaders of the G7 countries promised in their joint declaration not to rob those developing countries. Instead, we aim for mutually beneficial partnerships.

In addition, efforts are being made to promote investments, recycling and innovations, and a cooperation platform will be established to strengthen supply chains.

In connection with the overproduction supported by the Chinese state and the flood of cheap products, a joint record was also reached, although there were doubts in advance whether a consensus would be reached on the China problem due to Trump’s disruptive trade policy.

In their statement, the G7 countries expressed their concern about non-market policy measures and their harmful effects, such as market failures and overcapacity. “We intend to reduce dependencies, strengthen the security of supply chains and prevent technology leakage,” the G7 countries announced.

“Our technology” for drones

It was also speculated in advance whether we would reach a common vision regarding the development of artificial intelligence. To promote this, Macron had invited the leaders of the world’s leading artificial intelligence companies to Évian.

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyenin the message to Trump was that the common interest of the United States and Europe is a strong partnership in artificial intelligence, because otherwise it will not be possible to act at the forefront of development and against malicious parties. Von der Leyen said robots and drones must be equipped with “our technology”.

In the rather modest section on artificial intelligence of the meeting, it is stated, among other things, that because the capabilities of top-level artificial intelligence models are developing rapidly, cooperation will be increased with representatives of ministers, banks, financial supervisors and institutions, and technology companies. The focus is on the opportunities and risks offered by artificial intelligence. They are related to, for example, the financial sector and the labor market.

In order to protect children from the harmful effects of the internet, the G7 countries urge service providers to, among other things, develop safe systems and age verification, combat child abuse and illegal content, and increase security measures for artificial intelligence applications.

In Évian, the leaders also reached an agreement on joint policies concerning, among other things, actions against drug and human trafficking, the response to Ebola and the fight against cancer.

The fact that Italian Prime Minister Meloni announced to other leaders that he has finally stopped smoking can also be considered a bit lighter, positive health news.