ABSTRACT
The Germans adopted the new 'heads-only' format without hesitation for the Cologne summit of June 1999. The political context for Cologne 1999 was still conducive to harmony among the participants. In the US, despite the success of his economic policies, Clinton remained in political difficulty. G7 heads met on the afternoon of 18 June, with no Russians present. They discussed the world economy, new financial architecture and debt relief. The main G8 agenda of economic and social issues occupied the heads on 19 June, with Stepashin representing Russia. The G8 leaders had already used the Birmingham summit the year before to give a warning to Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic - Kosovo being one of the few foreign policy issues discussed at head of government level. The Cologne summit also expanded the G8's range on the other issues. It added education and social protection to employment and coupled conflict prevention to crime as aspects of international public order.
