The Bavarian Alps venue may look tranquil, but global turmoil - from Ukraine to militancy and the Greek crisis - dominates the agenda of the G7 summit, which is being held without Russia.
From tomorrow, German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosts US President Barack Obama and the other leaders of the Group of Seven rich nations, including Britain’s David Cameron, Canada’s Stephen Harper, France’s Francois Hollande, Italy’s Matteo Renzi and Japan’s Shinzo Abe, with Russian President Vladimir Putin barred for a third time from what was previously the G8.
The leaders of the top industrialised democracies, who will meet for two days at the tightly-guarded Elmau Castle retreat, argue that Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea last year has, at least temporarily, disqualified it from the group.
Merkel - the group’s veteran after nearly a decade in office - has repeatedly urged Putin to end Ukraine’s separatist conflict so he can return to the club and help deal with other pressing global challenges on the G7 agenda, from climate change to security threats.
Weighing heavily on the leaders’ minds as they discuss the world economy will be the looming threat of crisis-hit Greece crashing out of the eurozone if it fails to resolve a reforms-for-cash dispute with its creditors.
To discuss Greece and other issues of global significance, the G7 has also invited the heads of multilateral bodies such as the United Nations, IMF, World Bank and WTO, as well as the chief of the EU executive, Jean-Claude Juncker.
Also on the agenda will be long-running issues such as Iran’s nuclear programme, the stalled Middle East peace process, and maritime disputes between China and its neighbours.
The traditional focus of the G7, which has its roots in the mid-1970s oil crisis, has been foreign, security and economic policy, but Merkel has added a host of development, social and environmental issues, from women’s rights to Ebola.
With Paris due to host a UN climate summit late this year, Merkel - whose country is seeking a shift from nuclear power and fossil fuels to renewable energy - has vowed the summit will show that “the G7 states are willing to take a leading role in fostering low-carbon development”.
The G7, derided by protesters as a group of former colonial powers, will also reach out to African leaders and hold talks with Nigeria’s new president, Muhammadu Buhari, Liberia’s Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and the leaders of Tunisia and the African Union.
Together with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi they plan to discuss militants, such as Nigeria’s Boko Haram, and rapidly growing refugee flows across the Mediterranean, a pressing issue for the EU.
Other topics Merkel has tabled under the motto “Think ahead, act together” range from improving labour rights for textile workers to fighting antibiotics resistance and cleaning up oceanic pollution.
