Brazil took the Presidency of the G20 last December. It is the next of a series of emerging economy Presidencies, starting with Indonesia in 2022, India in 2023, and to be followed by South Africa in 2025. The current Brazilian government wants to show that “Brazil is back” on the multilateral scene after the Bolsonaro era and enhance the role of the “Global South”. G20 meetings are always a critical moment in international relations. G20 members represent indeed more than 80% of the world’s GDP and they can play a crucial role in steering the world away from a global confrontation.

“The G20 can help make progress on critical global issues such as social inclusion, the green transition and the reform of the multilateral governance.”

The G20 is a useful framework to exchange views, but not really a decision-making body. Nevertheless, a successful Brazilian G20 Presidency would be particularly important to show that, despite political differences, this forum can help make progress on critical global issues such as social inclusion, the green transition and the reform of the multilateral governance. In particular at a moment when Russia, which is currently chairing the BRICS, is trying to instrumentalise this other forum as an alternative in its geopolitical battle of narratives.

The G20 Foreign Ministers meeting in Rio de Janeiro was also the first such meeting with the African Union as a permanent G20 member. This matters greatly, because in 25 years from now, one out of four people in the world will be living in Africa. The EU has been a strong advocate of the African Union’s membership in the G20, and I warmly welcomed the presence of its representatives in Rio.

During our meeting we discussed our collective role in dealing with the ongoing international tensions and the reform of global governance institutions.

Dealing with the ongoing international tensions

The situation in Gaza and in the Middle East was the most pressing international issue. There was widespread consensus on the tragedy suffered by the civilian population and that far too many innocent lives have been lost in Gaza. With 90% of the population now displaced, this man-made humanitarian catastrophe must stop.   

I explained that 26 out of 27 EU member states have urged the Israeli government not to take military action in Rafah and called for an immediate humanitarian pause that would lead to a sustainable ceasefire, the unconditional release of hostages, and the provision of more and quicker humanitarian assistance. 

Israel has to abide by international law and humanitarian law. Every country must. Two EU Member States have asked us to assess if Israel respects its human rights commitments under our EU-Israel Association Agreement. We will do this work in the coming weeks. It is particularly important following the binding preliminary International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision. 

“This time, it appears that the entire international community is ready to commit itself to implement of the two-state solution.”

The most notable aspect of our meeting was the consensus on the two-state solution as the only way to ensure lasting peace and stability. Ending the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza is a matter of urgency, but immediately afterwards, the two-state solution must finally be swiftly implemented. This time, it appears that the entire international community is ready to commit itself to achieving this result. In the absence of any final communique, I asked the Brazilian FM to reflect that consensus in his press conference, what he did.

With Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov present, the meeting also offered the possibility to send a strong message on the Russian war of aggression and its consequences at the time of the second anniversary of the full scale invasion of Ukraine.

With other G7 ministers, I firmly reiterated our stance regarding the Russian aggression and its destabilising consequences, not only for Europe but for the whole world. We highlighted the clear breach of the core principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity of the UN charter and its major negative consequences on food and energy security worldwide. We also called out the slow murder of Alexei Navalny by the Russian regime.

The return of war to Europe also impacts the global efforts to fight hunger and poverty, alleviate the debt burden of low income countries, and fight climate change and loss of biodiversity. The Russian aggression compels us indeed to reallocate financial resources that were meant to be spent on sustainable development to strengthen defence and increase military production.

“I was impressed how much Russia was isolated in this G20 meeting”. 

As expected, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov repeated his usual narrative, full of lies and misrepresentations. I wonder whether even Sergey Lavrov believes them. Obviously, not the rest of the world as nearly all representatives of Global South countries reiterated their support to the core principles of UN charter with territorial integrity and non-use of force. I was impressed how much Russia was isolated in that context.  

Working towards global governance reform

The issue of global governance reform may not dominate headlines, but it is also a pressing one. Multipolarity is already a reality, but multilateralism – which should underpin and govern it – is in a deep crisis. Its reform is precisely what we need to frame that multipolarity (it came to stay) in the multilateral system. When you have more players in the game, you need better rules if you want the game to work. Without these rules, entropy increases and the system becomes more disordered, a situation we are currently witnessing.

“Multilateral institutions must reflect the world of today, not that of 1945.”

During our meeting, there was widespread consensus that multilateral institutions must reflect the world of today, not that of 1945. We need a United Nations fit for today and for the future. However, reaching consensus on the specific solutions remains a significant challenge. The answer should not be to rush into creating new institutions. That would be costly, lengthy and complicated. The most realistic way of working is to improve the institutions we already have.

In Rio, there was widespread agreement on the need to reform the United Nations Security Council to better represent all regions of the world, and notably Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean. Too often the UN Security Council is also blocked due to more and more vetoes. Clearly there is a need to change the rules for UNSC decision making.

We also need to reform the International Financial institutions, scaling up their firepower from billions to trillions and changing their governance structures to better support achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the fight against climate change. It is also urgent to restore the functionality of the WTO (World Trade Organization) and achieve a fully and well-functioning dispute settlement system by the end of 2024. This is one of the EU’s top priorities.

The UN Summit of the Future in New York next September will be an important opportunity to advance the reform process of the multilateral system. But to succeed, we need to prepare actively for it now.