G-8 leaders agree to

G-8 leaders agree to boost growth, protect oil supplies

5/19/2012 By Richard Wolf, USA Today

CAMP DAVID, Md. – Leaders of the world's major economic powers agreed Saturday to boost their emphasis on economic growth and job creation, and they vowed to seek the release of oil reserves if needed to compensate for reduced imports from Iran.

Agreements on those and other issues — including the need for a political transition in Syria that even its ally, Russia, apparently did not dispute — emerged as victories for President Obama as he hosted the Group of 8 summit amid the bucolic ambience of the presidential retreat.
"I think the surroundings gave us an opportunity to hold some intimate discussions and make some genuine progress," Obama said from the tree-shaded driveway of Aspen Cabin, the president's home here, at the end of the two-day summit.
"The direction the debate has taken recently should give us confidence. Europe has taken significant steps to manage the crisis," the president said. "There's now an emerging consensus that
more must be done. … that consensus for progress was strengthened here at Camp David."
Earlier, as the official photo of the informally dressed leaders was taken, Obama shouted "So far, so good" when asked about progress. He stood between German Chancellor Angela Merkel, a defender of fiscal austerity, and new French President Francois Hollande, elected on a growth-oriented platform.
Having met separately with Hollande at the White House on Friday, Obama scheduled a separate meeting with Merkel following the conclusion of the summit. The two enjoy a warm relationship but have been on opposite sides of the growth-versus-austerity debate since 2009.
"Our imperative is to promote growth and jobs," the leaders said in the first sentence of a lengthy statement about the global economy — a line the White House insisted come first. "The global economic recovery shows signs of promise, but significant headwinds persist."
Iran's nuclear program dominated the two-hour dinner discussion on security issues Friday night, and by mid-day Saturday the leaders had issued a statement warning that they would call on the International Energy Agency to release oil reserves if supplies tighten further — a clear reference to scheduled embargoes of Iranian oil.
Obama's decision to hold the 24-hour summit at Camp David rather than in Chicago proved successful, U.S. officials said. The leaders from the U.S., Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Canada and Russia were able to have frank talks, long walks and golf-cart jaunts in an intimate, informal atmosphere.
Never before had more than two foreign leaders joined a president at Camp David. The two previous summits had different outcomes: President Jimmy Carter helped usher in peace between Israel and Egypt in 1978; President Bill Clinton failed to bring peace between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in 2000.
This time, amid security so tight only the gnats presented a threat, there was chocolate birthday cake for Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda; gentle ribbing for Hollande when he alone wore a tie to dinner; and a joint treadmill workout in the Camp David gym for Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron.
Still, differences remained on how each country would handle the balance between growth strategies and deficit reduction; the communique left room for each nation to address its own internal needs.
And as the leaders prepared to head into a NATO summit in Chicago Sunday and Monday that will focus largely on the future of the war in Afghanistan, Hollande stuck by his campaign pledge to withdraw French troops this year, earlier than other allies.
Europe's struggling economy dominated Saturday's discussions around a small wooden table in Laurel Lodge, where the leaders had dined the night before. The morning session went much longer than expected, delaying the official photo by 75 minutes.
The leaders agreed that efforts should be made to keep Greece, on the brink of default, from pulling out of the 17-country euro zone to avoid tough austerity measures.
Michael Froman, the White House deputy national security adviser for international economics, also said there was "total consensus" among the European countries on the need for austerity measures and growth.
"Growth and jobs must be our top priority," Obama said. "A stable, growing European economy is in everbody's best interests, including America's. … We know it is possible in part based on our own experience here."
The short G-8 statement on world oil supplies marked an unusual departure for the normally cautious group, Froman said. It was intended to warn Iran that its oil exports aren't necessary — even with oil trading at $107 a barrel, up from about $85 when the Arab Spring began 16 months ago.
"The G-8 has a common position … to ensure that the market is fully and entirely supplied as these sanctions go into effect," Froman said. "We are determined to implement the sanctions fully."
Before leaving for Chicago, the leaders also held sessions on energy and climate change; Afghanistan's eventual postwar economic needs; and the latest developments in the Middle East and North Africa.
Obama also took the unusual step of inviting business leaders to a working lunch with G-8 and African leaders to discuss his plan for a public-private partnership to boost agricultural production in some African nations. The goal of the program is to lift 50 million people from poverty over the next decade.
"We're going to need involvement from all sectors," Obama said. Rather than just acknowledge the depth of the problem, he said, "I want to see if we can actually make some progress."