The

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

(EU) is a member of the G7 (the G8, until Russia was uninvited in 2014). It has been dubbed its "8th member",What does the G stand for? Group!
G8 Information Centre holding all the privileges and obligations of membership but without the right to host or chair a summit. As the full name of the G7 is the "Group of Seven Nations", the EU has not been included in the number, hence there being eight members in the G7. The

President of the European Commission The president of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The President of the Commission leads a Cabinet of Commissioners, referred to as the College, collectively account ...

has attended since he was first invited to the third G7 summit in 1977,

Roy Jenkins Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead, (11 November 1920 – 5 January 2003) was a British politician who served as President of the European Commission from 1977 to 1981. At various times a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Lab ...

was the then-President. Since 1981 the President has attended all sessions of the G7. The EU is currently represented by the Commission President and the

President of the European Council The president of the European Council is the person presiding over and driving forward the work of the European Council on the world stage. This institution comprises the college of heads of state or government of EU member states as well as t ...

. The latter used to be the rotating chair of the council of EU state leaders, with irregular attendance since

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

.List of G8 Summits - Delegations
G8 Information Centre The Council Presidency sometimes coincided with one of the G8 members, in which case that leader attended with their national and European mandate. Since 2009, the President of the European Council is a permanent position, who always attends the summits. As the EU is a member, what the Presidents endorse at the G7 is politically binding on them. The EU attends due to its role in the world economy, and its relevancy increased with the establishment of a single market,

common currency A currency union (also known as monetary union) is an intergovernmental agreement that involves two or more states sharing the same currency. These states may not necessarily have any further integration (such as an economic and monetary union, ...

and

foreign policy A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...

. The Paris Summit of 1989 was a landmark year for the EU's participation in the G7, when the G7 asked the EU to assume responsibility for

Phare The Phare programme is one of the three pre-accession instruments financed by the European Union to assist the applicant countries of Central and Eastern Europe in their preparations for joining the European Union. Originally created in 1989 as ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:European Union And The G7 European Union and third organisations Group of Seven Group of Eight