President Juncker at the G20 Summit in Hamburg - Main contents

Source: European Commission (EC) i, published on Saturday, July 8 2017.

President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker i and President of the European Council Donald Tusk i represented the European Union at this year's G20 i summit on 7-8 July. The Summit was hosted by Germany, which holds the rotating G20 presidency for 2017.

Countering terrorism remains a major priority for the G20. In a clear sign of solidarity, G20 leaders signed a statement on countering terrorism - a tangible sign of their will to stand united in implementing international commitments, fighting terrorism finance, preventing radicalisation conducive to terrorism and tackling the use of internet for terrorist purposes.

President Juncker used the Summit to underline the EU's continued commitment to defending our shared values of freedom, democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights, and to promoting these values in Europe and around the world.

G20 leaders endorsed the Hamburg Action Plan and remained committed to promoting greater inclusiveness, fairness and equality in the pursuit of economic growth and job creation while sharing the benefits of globalisation. This is also reflected in the Commission's Reflection Paper on Harnessing Globalisation. Speaking of the global economic outlook, President Juncker said: "This year, we are meeting with the wind in our sails. All 28 Member States of the EU are growing. Since 2013, ten million jobs have been created in the European Union. We have the lowest unemployment in nine years […]. There are 233 million Europeans at work - the highest employment rate we have ever had in the European Union." President Juncker also said that "Now is not the time to revert to the simple tool of protectionism", recalling the importance of the Economic Partnership Agreement with Japan which was agreed just one day before the G20 Summit. "There is no protection is protectionism," the President added.

On Climate, leaders took note of the decision of the United States of America to withdraw from the Paris Agreement while the leaders of the other G20 members stated that the Paris Agreement is irreversible.

G20 leaders also renewed their commitment to step up coordination and cooperation on displacement and migration. President Juncker underlined the importance of a partnership with Africa and recalled that the Commission had already put forward an external Investment Plan which can mobilise €44 billion to help tackling the root causes of migration.

In the margins of the summit, President Juncker met bilaterally with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Presidents Juncker and Tusk also held bilateral meetings with Mr Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, Prime Minister of Vietnam, Mr Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr Malcolm Turnbull, Prime Minister of Australia and Mr Mauricio Macri, President of Argentina, who takes over the rotating G20 Presidency from Germany later this year. President Juncker and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agreed to set the date of 21 September 2017 to start the provisional application of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement.

Discussions over the two days of the Summit focused on a wide range of other issues, including Sustainable Development, Partnership with Africa, Digitisation and Women's Empowerment and Employment - all of which are at the forefront of the EU's agenda.

The EU is a full member of the G20. The EU has its own seat at the G20 table because it is one of the largest global economic areas with specific competences in shaping global responses to global challenges and complementing the global economic coordination.