Chapter News

G20 summit, 21-22 November 2020

Main results

At a virtual summit hosted by Saudi Arabia, the G20 leaders expressed their strong commitment to coordinated global action, solidarity, and multilateral cooperation. They committed to working together to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, restore growth and jobs, and build a more inclusive, sustainable and resilient future.

Charles Michel, President of the European Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, represented the EU at the two-day event.

At the end of the summit, the G20 leaders adopted a declaration:

President Michel and President von der Leyen issued a joint press release following the summit.

COVID-19

The EU leaders stressed the need for strong multilateral cooperation in the fight against the pandemic. They called on the G20 to provide, before the end of the year, $4.5 billion for mass procurement and delivery of COVID-19 tools. This amount is urgently needed for the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) and its COVAX facility.

The G20 leaders committed to sparing no effort to make sure that all people have affordable and equitable access to safe and effective COVID-19 diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines.

They also committed to advancing global pandemic preparedness, prevention, detection and response. In this context, President Michel proposed an initiative to ensure a better global response to future pandemics.

An international treaty on pandemics could help us respond more quickly and in a more coordinated manner when pandemics occur. It should be negotiated with all UN organisations and agencies, in particular the WHO. The WHO must remain the cornerstone of global coordination against health emergencies.

Charles Michel, President of the European Council

Debt relief

The G20 leaders were determined to support the most vulnerable and fragile countries, notably in Africa, in their fight against the pandemic.

To this end, they committed to allowing countries eligible under the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) to suspend official bilateral debt service payments until June 2021.

The EU leaders stressed that additional steps might be needed, and the summit endorsed the “Common Framework for Debt Treatments beyond the DSSI”, which is also endorsed by the Paris Club.

The G20 debt moratorium is a good step in the right direction, and it might have to be extended beyond mid-2021.

Charles Michel, President of the European Council

Climate change and the green transition

The EU leaders urged all G20 members to work towards the full and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement.

They stressed that the EU is leading the way to climate neutrality by 2050 and welcomed the fact that many G20 partners had taken the same commitments.

They also promoted a recovery based on green, inclusive, sustainable, resilient and digital growth in line with the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals.

Global trade and taxation of the digital economy

The G20 leaders reaffirmed their support to the WTO reform process in the lead-up to the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference. They recognised the contribution that the Riyadh Initiative on the Future of the WTO has made.

The leaders also agreed to strive to find a consensus-based solution for a globally fair, sustainable, and modern international tax system by mid-2021, built on the ongoing work of the OECD.

On the digital economy, the G20 leaders expressed their support for fostering an open, fair and non-discriminatory environment and for protecting and empowering consumers while addressing the challenges related to privacy, data protection, intellectual property rights and security.

Let us use this window of opportunity to shape together the 21st century global economy in ways that are clean, green, healthy, safe and more resilient. We owe it to the future generations.

Charles Michel, President of the European Council

Background

The summit follows an earlier, extraordinary G20 leaders’ video conference that was held on 26 March to coordinate action to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

At their meeting on 26 March, leaders expressed their determination to spare no effort, both individually and collectively, to:

  • protect lives
  • safeguard people’s jobs and incomes
  • restore confidence, preserve financial stability, revive growth and recover stronger
  • minimise disruptions to trade and global supply chains
  • provide help to all countries in need of assistance
  • coordinate on public health and financial measures

During the meeting, President Michel and President von der Leyen underlined the European Union’s commitment to international cooperation in tackling this pandemic, and stressed that the EU will continue to assist vulnerable countries and communities around the world, especially in Africa.

About the Saudi Arabian G20 presidency

Under the overall theme of “Realising Opportunities of the 21st Century for All”, the Saudi Arabian G20 presidency focuses on three areas:

  • empowering people: creating conditions in which all people, especially women and youth, can live, work, and thrive
  • safeguarding the planet: fostering collective efforts to protect our commons
  • shaping new frontiers: adopting long-term and bold strategies to utilise and share benefits of innovation

About the G20

The G20 members are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union. Spain is a permanent guest.

The last physical G20 summit took place in Osaka, Japan, in 2019.

Compliments of the European Council.