Many issues are to be discussed during the EU-Japan video conference summit on Thursday 27 May. The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the Japanese Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga, will discuss their economic and trade relations, their role on the world stage on issues of health, environment and multilateralism, and lastly, they will discuss foreign and security policy.
“Japan is a partner with shared values, a key ally for the EU. We share values such as multilateralism, democracy and the Rule of law. We need this close cooperation more than ever”, said an EU official.
Health. Both parties are expected to discuss the global response to Covid-19, including the issue of vaccines. Japan is the country that has received the most doses produced in the EU. It therefore hopes to reaffirm the commitment to a common response to Covid-19, in particular on the Covax initiative.
The international treaty on pandemics will be on the agenda: “We are grateful that Japan supports this initiative and we hope to work more closely with Japan on the next steps”, said a European diplomat.
Environment. Leaders will discuss how to achieve environmental goals. Japan is one of the countries that has committed to climate neutrality by 2050. One of the objectives of this summit is to analyse how the two partners can support innovation and green technologies. The EU hopes to announce a joint initiative to work on cooperation on energy, standards, research, sustainable finance and ecological transition in developing countries. “This would be the first initiative of its kind with a third country”, says a European source.
Economic links. The EU and Japan plan to discuss the implementation of the Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA), the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and the one on connectivity.
Japan has become one of the EU’s preferred trading partners since the entry into force of the Economic Partnership Agreement in 2019. The EU would therefore like to use this momentum to discuss other possible areas of cooperation, such as aviation. It would like to use the opportunity as well to analyse the possibilities for facilitating trade in agri-food products.
Foreign policy and defence. EU and Japanese leaders are expected to discuss regional situations, whether in Asia, particularly North Korea and Myanmar, or in the EU’s neighbourhood - Belarus, Iran, the Near East and Ukraine - as well as the EU and Japan’s relations with China and Russia.
Europeans will reportedly also signal their willingness to engage more actively in the Indo-Pacific region. “The EU is ready to strengthen its presence as an economic actor, but also as a security provider”, explained a senior EU official.
Both sides are also expected to reaffirm their interest in intensifying cooperation on maritime and cyber security, disinformation and crisis and disaster management.
The EU and Japan have already conducted several joint maritime exercises (see EUROPE 12718/29, 12576/37).
In the joint declaration they will adopt, the leaders of the EU and Japan should finally reaffirm their commitment to cooperate closely to promote peace and security in the world and to advance effective multilateralism and the rules-based international order.
“It is vital for the EU to coordinate its action in the region and in international fora with Japan on human rights”, added a senior EU official, recalling that Japan currently sits on the UN Human Rights Council. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal and Camille-Cerise Gessant)