Does the G8 consult civil society, business, the unions and the non-governmental organisations?
Civil society stakeholders often play a deciding role in the development of certain major international projects, since they can form real forces of proposal and influence. The Jubilee 2000 organisation made up of numerous NGOs campaigning for the cancellation of the poorest countries’ debts played a hand in the 1999 Cologne Summit’s decision to enhance the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative launched at the Lyon Summit in 1996. Lobbying and support by many NGOs went a long way towards the decision to announce the creation of a Global Health Fund at the 2001 Genoa Summit. Modern diplomacy hence finds powerhouses of proposals and vital bridges in this associative action to help make progress with globalisation-related issues calling for suitable global responses. For example, the issues considered by the Heads of State and Government of the G8 countries are discussed in political and technical detail with civil society players, using the channels specific to each country. The Fre
