Brussels, 12/01/2004 (Agence Europe) - The European Union and Japan are currently holding confidential talks aimed to put joint pressure on the United States so that it puts a brake on the dollar's plunging rates compared to the euro and the yen. The information, which was given out by the Russian press agency, Itar Tass, was indirectly confirmed by French Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry, Francis Mer, who pointed out that the G8 Finance Ministers would hold a "serious talk" about euro and dollar rates at their meeting in February in Boca Raton (Florida). We recall that the dollar's continued depreciation compared to the euro (a fall of 50% compared to the euro since autumn 2000) threatens the European economy with stagnation. The same is true for the Nippon economy. The Bank of Japan has been widely using currency interventions to keep the yen from becoming stronger against the dollar. Only last week, the Bank spent $28.25 billion to this end, but experts said Japan would be unable to maintain this rate in a mid-term perspective.