Josep Borrell EU debates at the G7 Meeting in London

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Any specific area of progress?

Well in my case, I had the opportunity to talk with my colleagues about the situation of the negotiations on the JCPOA, the Nuclear Deal with Iran, chairing with Secretary General Blinken on the situation on these negotiations which are difficult, but going on! And from Friday we'll start a new round of these negotiations.

Also I had the opportunity to talk about the situation in Ethiopia, in Somalia, in the horn of Africa, where the situation is very worrying and difficult.

But what is happening in Libya is good news! The ceasefire is still lasting and I think that we can be optimistic about the situation.

So in general terms things are not going better but there are some places as Iran, Libya in other, where we can have a certain hope and where I think there is progress.

How much difference with dealing something on VTC?

With VTC there is no interactivity. There is no possibility to arrange bilaterals while these kind of meetings are important.

Being together around the table bilaterally or in groups is a way to forge consensus, this is the way you forge agreements.

The EU is going to let more people in during vacations in the summer. Is this too soon?

No, what we try to do is working in a coordinated way in order to take into consideration the improvement that we have been doing in vaccination. Everyone being vaccinated with the vaccines being authorized by the European institutions can be granted free entrance.

We have to take into consideration the progress made on the process of vaccination.

Josep Borrell, the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, participates in the physical G7 Foreign and Development Ministers' Meeting, taking place in London.

During the meeting, the High Representative and the Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States hold in-depth discussions on a number of topical foreign policy and security issues – including those related to Afghanistan, the JCPOA, Libya, Russia and the Eastern neighbourhood, Sahel, Syria, the Western Balkans, as well as security in Asia and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.

Furthermore, The High Representative introduces the exchange on the situation in the Horn of Africa, notably with regard to the crisis in Ethiopia and the security situation in Somalia.

During the meeting, participants also discuss how to strengthen global cooperation and solidarity to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, ensure early and equitable access to vaccines, diagnostics and treatments everywhere, and to start a sustainable global recovery.

They then address the issues of media freedom and the fight against disinformation.

Other thematic topics for discussion include the commitment to an ambitious action to tackle climate change, enhanced support for girls' education, gender equality and women empowerment, as well as collective action to address food insecurity in the world.

This year, India, Australia, the Republic of Korea, South Africa, and the Chair and Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have been invited to join part of the G7 Foreign and Development Ministers' meeting as guests.