'It’s not helplessness — it’s reality': Foreign policy expert on G7’s limits

That’s the view of Dmytro Sherenhovskyi, an international relations expert and vice-rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University, expressed during the “The world and us” project with Yevhen Mahda.

“This isn’t helplessness — it’s just reality. The G7, as we know it, is still a club of rich democracies. But unlike in previous years since its founding, we can no longer say that this group shapes strategic global initiatives — and there are several reasons for that,” he said.

“First, we now see that the G7’s interests are increasingly diverging. They’ve always had differences — that’s precisely why the group and its summits exist: to bring together the largest economies and synchronize their clocks.”

Sherengovskyi also noted that it’s becoming more difficult for the G7 to set a global agenda that gains widespread support.

“Today we can see that it’s extremely difficult to align the interests of the United States, France, or, for example, Japan — particularly on issues like China or the Middle East. Secondly, it’s clear they’re struggling to set a global agenda that would be supported by other countries, especially the so-called Global South. The initiatives they agree upon aren’t necessarily becoming international or global in scope,” the expert added.

• The European Commission confirmed its readiness to continue economic and financial support for Ukraine, including allocating up to €11 billion in 2025 under the G7 loan initiative.