Tokyo, 08/07/2002 (Agence Europe) - It was the eleventh EU/Japan consensual summit that came to an end on Monday 8 July in Tokyo. In a joint statement made after the work, the European party represented by Commission President Romano Prodi and President-in-Office of the EU Council Anders Fogh Rasmussen, and the Japanese side represented by Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, stressed convergent views regarding the bilateral issues and also the main international policy issues. The EU and Japan mainly confirmed their common approach in the trade dispute that brings them up against the United States over the restrictions imposed by the US on steel imports, while stressing that this quarrel does not question their cooperation with Washington with regards the fight against terrorism. "We have procedures and organisations for dealing with our trade disputes (…) with the Americans, (…) but we must conduct the international fight against terrorism together", said Mr Rasmussen.
The parties welcomed the catalytic effect brought on by the action plan adopted in November 2001 (see EUROPE of 6 July, p.8) on the quality of their relations. They also agreed on a certain number of priorities to be dealt with before the next Summit for each of the four cooperation "pillars" (promotion of peace and security; strengthened economic and trade partnership; global and "societal" challenges; and the rapprochement of different peoples and cultures). Europeans and Japanese mainly agreed to strengthen their cooperation before and after the fourth Asia-Europe ministerial meeting (ASEM), to better coordinate their efforts and the complementarity of their respective projects in Afghanistan - mainly demining -, to collaborate more closely on disarmament issues, non-proliferation and chemical and bacteriological weapons, seek to make the International Criminal Court operational as soon as possible, and to coordinate their efforts for the reconstruction of former Yugoslavia. On the economic and trade front, the parties stressed the need to cooperate more closely to strengthen the WTO. They agreed it is necessary to speed up negotiations on all aspects of the Doha development agenda, including market access, in the prospect of the fifth WTO ministerial meeting to be held in Mexico in September 2003. They also decided to strengthen their cooperation in the field of tourism, to implement a certain number of short term priorities in the field of information and communication technologies (which are soon to be endorsed by Japan and by the European Commission) and to soon sign an agreement concerning cooperation in the field of anti-competitive activities. The Europeans and the Japanese, both large aid providers, also reaffirmed their commitment to help developing countries move towards long-term sustainable development and to reduce poverty. On the subject of major global challenges, they pledged to cooperate closely with a view to a successful Johannesburg Summit and called on all the countries to ratify the Kyoto protocol so that it may come into effect as soon as possible.
On the subject of the Middle East, Europeans and Japanese alike called for respect of international law and reaffirmed their conviction that the organisation of an international conference focused on the political, economic and security parameters of the situation is a preliminary for a political settlement of the conflict. The parties also restated their political and economic support to the transitional Afghan Authority, invited North Korea to commit itself further in dialogue with South Korea, the United States and Japan, and confirmed their support to Russia's integration in the international system, including its accession to the WTO.