Brussels, 21/03/2013 (Agence Europe) - European and Japanese leaders will start negotiations in Tokyo on 25 March for an agreement on political cooperation and an agreement on free trade.
The agenda of the 21st bilateral EU-Japan summit at the beginning of next week is very concrete. President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy and President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso will give the official kick-off together with their Japanese head of government host, Shinzo Abe, to the negotiations aiming to further strengthen the links between the EU and Japan - the world's third-largest economy.
The parties will firstly give their green light to the start of negotiations for a partnership agreement aiming to develop the dialogue and cooperation on a wide range of political and global issues. This future framework agreement aims to deepen sectoral cooperation and coordination to address global and regional challenges. It will cover foreign and security policy, development cooperation, sustainable development, justice, the economy, R&D and innovation, education and culture.
The leaders of the EU and Japan will also kick off negotiations for a free trade agreement - which will cover tariff liberalisation, the lifting of non-tariff barriers and regulatory convergence, services, investment and public procurement. In 2011, the EU represented 11% of Japan's trade, making the archipelago its third most important trading partner. Japan is the EU's seventh largest export market. The same year, EU exports to Japan reached €49 billion, and EU imports from its East-Asian partner stood at €69 billion. The EU has a recurrent trade deficit with Japan. The EU remains Japan's third largest export market and its second source of imports after China. EU direct foreign investments in Japan are still weak in relation to other industrialised countries. The free trade agreement that the two partners want would bring a rise in the EU's GDP of 0.6% to 0.8%. EU exports to Japan could increase by 32.7%, while Japanese exports would increase by 23.5%.
The summit will also provide the opportunity to seek a convergence of views and positions on the big international and regional issues. The relations between Japan and its neighbouring countries - in particular China, with which Tokyo is in a territorial maritime conflict, especially for the control of the Senkaku islands (Diaoyutai in Chinese), and the situation in the Korean peninsula - will be at the centre of regional security issues. The Iranian nuclear issue, the situation in Syria and the war against terrorism in Mali and the Sahel will be at the centre of the agenda in international policy. The G20 process and climate change will dominate international economic issues.
The cooperation chapter on research and innovation will also be tackled. EU-Japan cooperation on this is governed by a scientific cooperation agreement that has been in force since March 2011. The priority areas of enhanced cooperation include health and active ageing, low carbon technology and new materials.
Lastly, two years after the earthquake and tsunami which devastated the north-east coast of Japan, the partners will proceed to an exchange of information and best practice on governance frameworks, risk evaluation and coordination in response to natural catastrophes, as planned at the last summit. In 2011, the EU delivered 400 tonnes of in-kind assistance as well as €17 million in financial aid. (EH/transl.fl)