At a round of talks at technical level over nearly two weeks in Tokyo, the negotiators of the Commission and Japanese government made "very significant progress" towards concluding a free-trade agreement between the EU and Japan, to which the parties have come "very close", the European negotiator-in-chief, Mauro Petriccione, announced on Saturday 17 December.
"This negotiation is a top priority for Europe. We strongly believe that Europe and Japan can and must show renewed leadership in...