At a press conference in Brussels together with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, she said that the issue of global health and equitable access to vaccines will be one of the key topics of the meeting.

"From the beginning we have ensured that domestic vaccination goes ahead at the same time as exports to the rest of the world," he claimed, noting that of the 700 million doses produced in the European Union (EU) since December, about 350 million doses have been exported to more than 90 countries.

"A few weeks ago I called on other [leaders] to practice more openness and I am pleased to see that the draft [final G7] communiqué will reflect that," she added.

He also said that the news that US President Joe Biden will announce at the summit the purchase of 500 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine to be delivered to about 100 countries over the next two years, 200 million of them in 2021, is "encouraging.

According to von der Leyen, more than 50% European adult population has received at least the first dose of a vaccine and 100 million Europeans are fully vaccinated.

However, the most developed countries have been criticized for withholding most of the vaccines produced and for giving priority to their own citizens, delaying vaccination in the rest of the world.

According to data from Oxford University's "Our World in Data" portal, only 12% of the world's population has been inoculated with a first dose, and in Africa it is only 2%.

In addition to fighting and recovering from the covid-19 pandemic, the G7 is also expected to discuss foreign policy issues, climate change, development support, including support for education for girls affected by school closures during the pandemic crisis.

The situations in Belarus and Ethiopia and relations with China and Russia are to be addressed, the European leaders said.

"We are very much looking forward to this G7, again finally with countries that share the same values, that share the same interests and the same way of seeing the world," von der Leyen said, in a reference to the disagreements generated by former US President Donald Trump.

European Council President Charles Michel advocated the importance of "demonstrating that liberal democratic societies are the best prepared" to overcome the covid-19 pandemic and fight climate change while promoting economic prosperity.

"The world has remained suspended by this pandemic, but international cooperation has strengthened and intensified significantly and we will see that in the days to come," he emphasized.

The G7 summit takes place in person in Cornwall, southwest England, between Friday and Sunday, bringing together leaders from the G7 countries (Germany, Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom) and the European Union.

Under the UK's rotating presidency, UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the leaders of Australia, South Africa, South Korea, and India have been invited to this edition, but the latter will speak by videoconference.