On Thursday 11 May, European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström said she hoped there would be a breakthrough in the spring on the free trade negotiations between the EU and Japan.
"We are making good progress. We are seeing the end of these negotiations (...) we are advancing, we are very close to an agreement but we have still work to do in agriculture in general and specifically in dairy products", Malmström said at the end of a meeting of EU trade ministers in Brussels on Thursday.
"We hope to move the things forward", at the meeting of chief negotiators in Brussels next week, she said, before concluding: "there has not been a breakthrough on this yet but we hope that we can find a good compromise still this spring".
"Japan is the second largest EU trading partner after China. This is a most rational and logical step for the EU and Japan to engage on this matter, and this free trade agreement has to be concluded by the end of 2017 as stipulated by the European Council", Malta's Economy Minister and current rotating president of the Council, Christian Cardona, stated.
The 18th round of technical talks, in Tokyo in early April, enabled the divergences to be reduced between the two parties, with the objective of concluding an agreement in 2017. The parties are expected to keep up the political momentum at the G7 summit, in Taormina, Italy, on 26 and 27 May. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)