Meloni-Macron Disagreement Over Abortion at G7: Differing Views” – Response Given: “Not During Campaign Season

During the first day of the G7 summit, a controversial issue surrounding abortion arose, leading to a strong reaction from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni towards French President Emmanuel Macron. The issue at hand was the inclusion of the word ‘abortion’ in the final declaration of the summit, proposed by France during the last discussions for the drafting of the document. The Italian presidency deemed the reference to this issue in the Hiroshima G7 declaration to be sufficient, causing Macron to express regret. Meloni responded firmly, urging Macron not to use the G7 as a platform for political campaigning.

In response to the initial reports about the controversy, an Italian source dismissed the issue, referring to it as mere “whipped cream” meant to sensationalize the summit. The source emphasized that the commitments made by the G7 leaders in Hiroshima were not being undermined in any way, and that the absence of the word ‘abortion’ in the draft declaration did not signify a step backwards. The source highlighted that the intention was to maintain a balanced text that covered a range of important topics, and that the decision to affirm the Hiroshima commitments was made in the early hours of the morning.

France was revealed to be the country advocating for the inclusion of the word ‘abortion’ in the document, as Macron cited the constitutional right of women to abortion in France. Meloni, on the other hand, emphasized that the controversy over the presence or absence of the word ‘abortion’ in the conclusions was unwarranted, as the Borgo Egnazia conclusions reiterated the commitments made in Hiroshima the previous year. Meloni criticized the attempt to introduce new arguments when the issues had already been agreed upon, and condemned the use of the G7 as a political stage in such challenging times.