G7: Clash on climate, unity on terror
Leaders from the world’s major industrialised nations began talks on Friday at a G7 summit in Sicily, exposing deep divisions with US President Donald Trump over trade and climate change.
They had a “controversial” debate on climate change, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters, with Trump urged by everyone at the table to back the Paris Accord.
But they were united against terrorism, demanding action from internet providers and social media firms against extremist content and vowing to step up their fight against the menace after the Manchester attack. “The G7 calls for Communication Service Providers and social media companies to substantially increase their efforts to address terrorist content,” they said in a statement. “Make no mistake: the fight is moving from the battlefield to the internet,” UK Prime Minister Theresa May said. The G7 also vowed a collective effort to track down and prosecute foreign fighters dispersing from theatres of conflict such as Syria. “It is vital we do more to cooperate with our partners in the region to step up returns and prosecutions of foreign fighters,” May said. “This means improving intelligencesharing...and bolstering countries’ police and legal processes.”
GERMANY IS ‘VERY BAD’
In a meeting with European Commission President JeanClaude Juncker, Trump denounced the German trade surplus as “very bad” and complained about the large number of German cars being sold in the United States, officials said.
Juncker tried to play down the comments ahead of the summit. But they underscored ongoing policy divisions between Trump and his partners four months after he took office.