Brussels, 26/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - On the sidelines of the G7 summit in Ise-Shima on Thursday 26 May, the leaders of the EU and of the European member countries of the G7 - France, Germany, Italy and the UK -reaffirmed, together with Japan's Prime minister Shinzo Abe, their desire to conclude an agreement in principle by the end of 2016 on the negotiations that have been conducted since 2013 for an EU-Japan free trade agreement.
“We (…)welcome the view shared by the leaders of Japan and the EU at their meeting on 3 May (see EUROPE 11545) to instruct their respective negotiators to accelerate the negotiations on the Japan-EU economic partnership agreement (…), and reaffirm our strong commitment to reach an agreement in principle as early as possible in 2016”, said European Council President Donald Tusk, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, French President François Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italy's Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, British Prime Minister David Cameron and Shinzo Abe in a statement.
Hailing the “substantial progress already made”, they entrust the negotiators “to make the efforts necessary in the coming months to move forward with the negotiations” in order to conclude a “comprehensive, high-level and balanced agreement” encompassing all key issues including all types of tariff and non-tariff measures. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)