G8-Presidency

General information

On 1 January 2007 Germany assumed the rotating Presidency of the G8 for one year. The Presidency bears the motto “Growth and Responsibility”. The key event is the meeting of the eight Heads of State and Government in Heiligendamm from 6 to 8 June 2007. This summit will focus on shaping the globalized world economy and Africa's development.

The Group of Eight (G8) comprises Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States of America; the European Commission is also represented. Every year a different G8 member assumes the presidency of the group.

The G8 process is more than just a series of summit meetings. Over the years, a fully-fledged programme of political coordination has grown up around this annual event. The topics for the summit and the ministers' meetings are prepared by high-level staff of the Heads of State and Government and the ministers, known in G8 jargon as "sherpas" and "sous-sherpas". They meet several times a year.

The G8 is an informal forum for coordinating policy. Nevertheless, the decisions made by the Group have a binding effect politically and are presented to other multilateral bodies jointly by the G8.

The focuses of the German G8 Presidency can be found following this link.

The address of the G8 homepage of the German Presidency is www.g-8.de.

On our web pages, you will find information on measures against product piracy and other infringements of property rights, in particular.
Product piracy and other infringements of property rights are constantly on the increase. They cause considerable economic damage, not least to the detriment of German companies. Diverse measures are employed to counteract these developments. Since national measures alone are not sufficient to achieve this, action is also taken at the European and international levels.