Brussels, 05/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - The bilateral EU-Japan summit on 7 May will enable progress on trade negotiations to be assessed and increased cooperation on security issues to be promoted.
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will finish his ten-day European tour in Brussels on Wednesday 7 May, having visited Germany, the UK, Portugal, Spain and France. Abe has used his tour to try and reassure his European partners about security in East Asia, where his nationalist overstatements fan territorial disputes with South Korea and China. The 22nd bilateral EU-Japan summit - alongside President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy and President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso - and talks with senior NATO officials are on the programme for the lap of his tour in Belgium.
The EU-Japan summit will assess the progress achieved in the negotiations that were launched in April 2013 - on the one hand, for a strategic partnership agreement, which covers political dialogue, cooperation on regional issues and global challenges, and sectoral cooperation - and on the other hand, for a free-trade agreement. The EU will very shortly determine whether Japan has made enough progress on lifting the non-tariff barriers that protect a number of its markets (automobile, railway, medicine and food sectors).
The summit will also give political impetus to closer cooperation between the EU and Japan on security issues. The two partners are seeking to engage in concrete cooperation linked to EU crisis management missions and operations, notably in the Sahel and Horn of Africa. The meeting will also promote sectoral cooperation in areas such as cyber-security, research and innovation, and energy.
Lastly, an exchange of views is planned on regional security issues - including the situation in the Korean peninsula and in East Asia/Pacific - and on international issues - including Syria, Iran and Ukraine - and world challenges - including climate change, post-2015 framework for development, and trade. (EH)