Brussels, 30/04/2015 (Agence Europe) - At the end of work on Friday 29 April, the European Commission summed up that the tenth negotiations session for a free trade agreement between the EU and Japan, which was held in Tokyo on 22-29 April - just ahead of the bilateral summit there on Wednesday 29 May - had enabled progress in the process of consolidating the negotiation texts.
Most of the subjects covered by the future agreement were discussed during this session of talks - customs duties, government procurement, the railway sector, services, investment, competition, rules of origin, customs and trade facilitation, intellectual property rights (including geographical indications), dispute settlement, trade and sustainable development, and sanitary and phytosanitary issues.
Discussions on the issues that were not tackled in Tokyo this week - regulatory cooperation, trade defence instruments, institutional arrangements, and transparency - will continue during the intersession work.
The Commission stated that the two negotiation teams assessed this week the possibilities of moving forward on a number of complex issues and showed a great deal of flexibility.
The next round of negotiations will be held in Brussels before the summer holiday. The Commission nevertheless expects the announcement of positive developments at the May summit.
The joint objective remains to reach a final agreement by the end of 2015. (Emmanuel Hagry)