Whether it is the response to Covid-19, the ecological or digital transition or security issues, the EU wants to act together with Japan. The rapid video conference summit on Thursday 27 May concluded with a Joint Statement covering these different topics.
Covid-19
Both partners reiterated their support for the Covax mechanism as well as for the Access to Covid-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator. They also agreed on the idea of an international treaty on pandemics at the World Health Organization (WHO).
Climate change
The EU and Japan announced the launch of a ‘Green Alliance’ to tackle the global green transition together (see other news).
Digital transition
“We share the same vision of human centric digitisation”, said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The EU and Japan want to work together on global standards for new technologies, including cybersecurity, 5G, ‘blockchain’ and artificial intelligence.
They also want to work towards a solution on digital taxation in the OECD framework by mid-2021.
Trade
Two years after the entry into force of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), both parties expressed their satisfaction with the agreement and stressed the need for its full implementation.
“We need to continue working on market access in the Economic partnership agreement for EU agri-food products and on the remaining sanitary and phytosanitary issues that need to be resolved”, Mrs von der Leyen said.
The reform of the WTO is also a major concern for the EU and Japan, who want to contribute so that the 12th Ministerial Conference at the end of 2021 is a success.
Connectivity
Through their partnership on connectivity, the two partners want to promote sustainable and rules-based connectivity. They therefore encourage collaboration in the funding of green projects and stated that they wish to see increased collaboration between their respective industrial and scientific sectors.
Security and defence
In front of the media, the President of the European Council also stressed the strengthening of cooperation between the EU and Japan in the field of security and defence. “It is in our interest to intensify our cooperation with Japan on maritime security, technological cooperation, cybersecurity and the fight against disinformation”, he said.
In their Joint Statement, the parties promise to consult and coordinate closely on regional issues such as Afghanistan, Belarus, Myanmar, Ukraine, the Middle East Peace Process, Syria, the Sahel, Libya, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and the Eastern Mediterranean, and to enhance synergies in their cooperation with their African partners. The EU and Japan are also committed to the resumption of regional dialogues, for example on the Arctic, the MENA region, the Western Balkans and Asia.
They also stated that they wish to cooperate on security capacity building in Africa, the Indian Ocean and South East Asia and to continue engagement in the Enhancing Security Cooperation in and with Asia (ESIWA) project to address common security challenges. “We will strengthen cooperation for a free and open Indo-Pacific area, which is inclusive and based on the Rule of law and democratic values, and which is not subject to coercion”, the statement said.
Furthermore, according to Mr Michel, “at a time when human rights and democracy are under attack around the world, the EU and Japan must coordinate their actions”. They therefore intend to increase their cooperation on human rights resolutions at the UN.
“We will enhance consultations on security, particularly on non-proliferation and disarmament and on countering hybrid threats and expand practical cooperation in areas such as cybersecurity, maritime security and crisis management”, pledged the Europeans and Japanese.
Link to the Joint Statement: https://bit.ly/3fOVt0h (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant and Léa Marchal)