A summit between the European Union and Japan will be held on Thursday 25 April in Brussels in the late afternoon, with the participation of the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe, and the Presidents of the European Council, Donald Tusk, and the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker.
While the European Union welcomes a revitalised bilateral partnership, it would like to see Tokyo become more committed to its ideas in order to commit Washington to a robust multilateral trading system based on reformed rules.
Trade, bilateral and multilateral relations
With the provisional entry into force on 1 February of a bilateral free trade agreement, or Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), and an agreement on data protection, EU-Japan relations have entered a “new era” in recent months, a European source said on Wednesday 24 April (see EUROPE 12184/3, 12178/3).
On 10 April in Tokyo, EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström attended the first meeting of the Agreement's Joint Committee in order to initiate implementation procedures and bilateral monitoring cooperation (see EUROPE 12234/21).
In Alsace, on 17 April, during a visit by Mrs Malmström, French winegrowers had already welcomed the increase in exports to Japan.
However, the European Commission wants to remain focused on the implementation of the EPA. The Summit will therefore be an opportunity to send a strong signal in this respect, in particular on the mutual efforts of the Parties to facilitate the use of tariff preferences at all levels.
The EU will also address the issue of market access for European agri-food products, a subject that sometimes gives rise to some friction, such as the problem of Japan's non-recognition of EU regionalisation measures due to African swine fever virus and cumbersome procedures for approving fruit and vegetable applications.
EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan will also visit Japan from 8 to 11 May, accompanied by a delegation of representatives of the EU agri-food sector, with a view to enabling European agri-food exports to benefit more from the favourable outcome of the EPA.
Talks on an investment protection agreement between the two entities are still active, provided a second source close to the discussions, but they are stalled. They face Japanese reluctance to accept the Investment Court System (ICS), the jurisdictional mechanism between investors and States proposed by the EU. According to the same source, this reservation also reflects Tokyo's desire not to take sides between this model and the ISDS investment courts, still promoted by Washington.
“At a time when multilateralism is increasingly contested, the EU and Japan have an opportunity to demonstrate that they want to address key global issues”, said the first European source.
The reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO) will also be on the agenda (see EUROPE 12240/14), particularly in view of the G20 summit in Osaka next June. The EU and Japan are working with the United States on several areas of reform of the Organisation, including industrial subsidies or forced technology transfers, to address the impact of the Chinese economic model on world trade.
However, Europeans would like to see the Japanese less shy against the United States, where Mr Abe will go after the summit with the EU. According to the second source, Japan refuses to support the European proposal submitted in autumn 2018 to reform the WTO Appellate Body (see EUROPE 12146/16). The EU is in favour of a robust dispute settlement system, but Washington opposes the renewal of the membership of a body whose case law it contests, inter alia, as unfavourable to its interests.
Japan preferred to submit an alternative text last week, jointly with Australia.
The Osaka Summit could provide an opportunity for a new plea for an effective multilateral system, but as the US presidential elections approach, the pro-multilateralism front cannot be divided if it wishes to achieve any success at this meeting.
Leaders are also expected to address the issue of opening up the digital economy, on the eve of the launch of plurilateral negotiations at the WTO, expected in May (see EUROPE 12228/15). In this context, Mr Abe defends the “Osaka track”, which would allow a smooth flow of digital data under strict protection and security conditions, an initiative with which the EU would like to associate itself, even if there is, at this stage, no specific European position on this issue.
Climate, another multilateral challenge
In the light of the latest IPCC report, Europeans and Japanese should recognise the urgency of increasing global efforts to combat climate change, reconfirm their commitment to fully implement the Paris Climate Agreement and their willingness to contribute to the success of the UN climate summit convened next September by António Guterres to raise the level of ambition of the commitments on the table.
According to the first European source, the EU reportedly has the ambition to reach an agreement with Japan to anticipate the implementation of the commitments. “The objective is to make progress in implementing the commitments. But it is not clear that Japan will accept the idea of accelerating the implementation of the Paris Agreement. For us, the minimum bar is to fully implement the Paris Agreement. We hope that at the G20 summit in Osaka we can go towards advancing the implementation of commitments, but if we will succeed is not sure”, she said.
Both sides should also reiterate their support for the UN's sustainable development agenda for 2030, their commitment to developing the circular economy and protecting biodiversity in preparation for the UN Conference on Biological Diversity in China in 2020. The importance of EU/Japan cooperation in ocean governance should also be highlighted.
Foreign affairs: Korean peninsula and Iran
Europeans and Japanese should also discuss the international situation, particularly in their respective neighbourhoods. For example, they could discuss the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula while North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un is in Russia for a summit with President Putin – the first of its kind – and US attempts at negotiations on North Korean nuclear energy seem to be at a deadlock (see EUROPE 12204/31).
Europeans and Japanese should also reconsider the Iranian nuclear agreement, particularly after the United States announced its intention to revoke the waivers on the purchase of Iranian oil, which are still in force in Tokyo, Athens and Rome (see EUROPE 12240/21).
The situation in the East and South China Seas and developments in Crimea and the Azov Sea could also be addressed. (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel, Aminata Niang, Camille-Cerise Gessant and Lionel Changeur)