The 2011 G20 Cannes Summit was the sixth meeting of the

G20 The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 sovereign countries, the European Union (EU), and the African Union (AU). It works to address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stabil ...

heads of government/heads of state, held in

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

, France, in a series of on-going discussions about

financial market A financial market is a market in which people trade financial securities and derivatives at low transaction costs. Some of the securities include stocks and bonds, raw materials and precious metals, which are known in the financial marke ...

s and the

world economy The world economy or global economy is the economy of all humans in the world, referring to the global economic system, which includes all economic activities conducted both within and between nations, including production (economics), producti ...

. The G20 forum is the avenue for the G20 economies to discuss, plan and monitor international economic cooperation. While the summit achieved little progress on resolving the

Eurozone crisis The euro area crisis, often also referred to as the eurozone crisis, European debt crisis, or European sovereign debt crisis, was a multi-year debt crisis and financial crisis in the European Union (EU) from 2009 until, in Greece, 2018. The ...

and providing concrete measures to addressing global financial imbalances, it did produce some tangible results, including the adoption of the Cannes Action Plan for Growth and Jobs, the launch of the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) and the endorsement of an Action Plan on Food Price Volatility and Agriculture.

Priorities

France put agriculture and food security at the heart of the G20 priorities. Around this broad theme, it divided the priorities of the Summit into six areas: # Reform the

International Monetary System An international monetary system is a set of internationally agreed rules, conventions and supporting institutions that facilitate international trade, cross border investment and generally the reallocation of capital between states that have dif ...

. # Strengthen

financial regulation Financial regulation is a broad set of policies that apply to the financial sector in most jurisdictions, justified by two main features of finance: systemic risk, which implies that the failure of financial firms involves public interest consi ...

, especially in non-banking financial institutions as well as regulation concerning financial market integrity and transparency. # Reduce excessive commodity price volatility and enhance

food security Food security is the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, healthy Human food, food. The availability of food for people of any class, gender, ethnicity, or religion is another element of food protection. Simila ...

. # Support employment and strengthen the social dimension of

globalization Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...

. # Fight corruption, for example by ensuring that the Anti-Corruption Action Plan adopted in the 2010 G20 Seoul summit will produce concrete results and real progress starting in 2011. # Support infrastructure development and enhance food security in the most vulnerable countries.

Outcomes

The Summit took place in the aftermath of the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

and in the midst of the evolving

Euro area crisis The euro area crisis, often also referred to as the eurozone crisis, European debt crisis, or European sovereign debt crisis, was a multi-year debt crisis and financial crisis in the European Union (EU) from 2009 until, in Greece, 2018. The ...

. Against this background, the outcomes of the Summit can be considered as insufficient in providing clear solutions for restoring and strengthening the global economy. However, the Summit did result in a number of initiatives, most notably in the area of agriculture and food security. Especially the launch of the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) and the endorsement of an Action Plan on Food Price Volatility and Agriculture are tangible steps to addressing the world agriculture and food challenge. The G20 Summit also tasked the GEO Global Agricultural Monitoring ( GEOGLAM) initiative to produce and disseminate improved forecasts of agricultural production through the use of

earth observation Earth observation (EO) is the gathering of information about the physical, chemical, and biosphere, biological systems of the planet Earth. It can be performed via remote sensing, remote-sensing technologies (Earth observation satellites) or throu ...

Attendance

Attendance at the Cannes summit included leaders and representatives of the core members of the G20, which comprises 19 countries and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

which is represented by its two governing bodies, the

European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body (directorial system) and a symbolic collective head of state, that defines the overall political direction and general priorities of the European Union (EU). It is composed of the he ...

and the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

. Representatives of other nations and regional organizations were also invited to take part in the summit.

Protests

At the summit protesters donned

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...

caps and demanded a tax on international financial transactions in order to provide aid to poor countries instead of catering to banking and other financial institutions. They also chanted slogans in opposition to "corporate greed" and supported a counter-G20 summit, "People First, Not Finance", organised by

labour union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

s and NGOs such as

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...

and

Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent non-governmental organizations (NGOs), focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. It began as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief ...

. Though police reported 5,500 were part of the protests, the organisers estimated the number of protesters at 12,000. The riot police and helicopters limited the scope of the protests to a neighbourhood in the east of Nice, which was to host the alternative summit as well as the protests. Both Cannes and Nice also tightened security, with 12,000 police personnel being deployed.

References

External links

Official websiteG20 website of the OECD

G20 Information Centre

Graphic: G20 is not simply the 20 largest economies
{{DEFAULTSORT:G20 summit, 2011, Cannes

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...