This year’s G7 declaration will not reference the guarantee of “safe and legal abortion” thanks to the intervention of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Despite pressure from France, the United States and Canada, the Italian government wouldn’t budge on the issue during negotiations over the declaration’s final wording.
Instead, Meloni opted for the declaration to only reference “reproductive rights.”
The G7 meeting this year is being hosted in Apulia, Italy and was the first summit to host a pontiff. Pope Francis held bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, among other world leaders, and chaired a session on the dangers of artificial intelligence.
Tensions flared between Meloni and French President Emmanuel Macron over the issue, leading to the two leaders trading barbs on the sidelines of the international meeting.
While speaking to the media, Macron said that Italians and the French don’t share the same “sensibilities” and that abortion is a constitutional right in France.
“You don’t have the same sensibilities in your country,” Macron told an Italian journalist.
“France has a vision of equality between women and men, but it’s not a vision shared by all the political spectrum.”
Meloni took issue with Macron’s comments, accusing him of politicizing the summit and campaigning for re-election.
“I believe it is profoundly wrong, in difficult times like these, to campaign using a precious forum like the G7,” Meloni told the Italian press.
The French president called a snap election earlier this month hoping to consolidate his rule after right-wing parties achieved a sweeping victory during the European elections.
Videos of the two interacting at an official G7 event showed Meloni visibly uncomfortable while shaking Macron’s hand.
Macron isn’t the only critic of Meloni. Prime Minister Trudeau has also habitually lectured the Italian leader on her country’s record on sexual minorities. During the G7 meeting in Hiroshima, Japan last year, Trudeau expressed “concerns” about her positions on gender ideology.
“Obviously, Canada is concerned about some of the (positions) that Italy is taking in terms of LGBT rights,” said Trudeau.
“But I look forward to talking with you about that.”
