Brussels, 10/07/2001 (Agence Europe) - The Third EU-Japan Business Dialogue Round Table, held on 9 and 10 July in Brussels under the joint presidency of Etienne Davignon (Société Générale de Belgique) and Tadahiro Sekimoto (NEC Corporation) (see EUROPE of 2 & 3 July, p.10), set forward recommendations in a text entitled "Partnership for New Growth", in which the leaders of 40 major European and Japanese companies appeal for economic growth to be boosted through reciprocal investment and commercial cooperation. The participants also adopted a political statement in which they call for "a broad and ambitious new Round of the World Trade Organisation (WTO)" to be launched in Doha this autumn. Participants included European Commission President Romano Prodi and his Enterprise Commissioner Erkki Liikanen, as well as Keiji Furuya (Japanese Senior Vice-Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry), Kaoru Kanazawa (Vice-Minister for International Affairs) and Toshio Koijma (Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs). The next round table meeting will be held in July 2002 in Tokyo.
Presenting the results of the work to the press, Etienne Davignon recalled that six working groups had taken part in the elaboration of recommendations concerning the future cooperation between the EU and Japan: trade, taxation and finance, lifting of trade barriers, norms and regulations, information and communication technologies, WTO. The recommendations will be forwarded to the European Commission and to the Japanese authorities, he specified. Tadahiro Sekimoto noted, for his part, that the text followed the main lines of the document presented last year to the EU/Japan Summit called "Developing a New Paradigm in the Business Relationship Between the EU and Japan". As far as the Kyoto Protocol is concerned, Mr Sekimoto felt that it could not be effective without American participation. Furthermore, he noted the recommendations for:
1. improvements in the business environments of the EU and Japan to develop mutual investment and trade. The text proposes the rapid implementation of the "Mutual Recognition Agreements" (MRA) signed in April between the EU and Japan;
2. Establishment of international rules to promote global business activities through government initiatives and support. It is particularly important that the EU and Japan work together to ensure that International Accounting Standards are applied at the earliest possible date.
3. Development of the information and communications technology industry (ICT), e-commerce and the Internet, in order to develop an economy based on knowledge and revive growth in the technology sector. The Round Table calls for the reduction and/or abolition of trade barriers by supporting the recommendations of the Global Business Dialogue (GBD) in which the EU and Japan are called on to develop a pro-active attitude. It also proposes selecting areas of common interest in e-Europe and e-Japan initiatives, to contribute to the emergence of a new economy through the exchange of good practices.
Finally, Mr Sekimoto pointed out that the participants had also exchanged views on relations between the European and Japanese economies, by evoking, in particular, reforms undertaken in Japan, the euro, the development of biotechnology, competitiveness and innovation, and "corporate governance".