Rainald Steck

The G8 summit will be a highpoint of 2007 for us, both politically and in terms of protocol, in a year in which Germany is president of both the G8 and the EU.

In terms of protocol arrangements for the foreign ministry, we have allocated approximately 400 staff to the EU preparations and execution of our responsibilities and 50 to the G8. After the EU anniversary meetings in Berlin in March, the G8 is our second major challenge this year.

We will have around 100 staff working around the clock to ensure smooth operations at the G8 summit. The logistics of the summit will place particular pressure on the abilities of our protocol team. My colleagues and I are looking forward to running a summit which is well organized and conducive to successful discussions between heads of governments -- and we are hoping that the weather will be good, too.