Brussels, 06/06/2007 (Agence Europe) - European and Japanese leaders, meeting in Berlin on Tuesday 5 June at the annual summit, confirmed the importance of close bilateral cooperation between the EU and Japan in political and economic areas. Apart from the adoption of a joint action plan on intellectual property, it was, on the eve of the G8 summit at Heiligendamm, the consensus achieved between the two sides on the climate that represented the progress of the summit.
Climate and energy security. Following the summit, German Chancellor and President of the EU Council Angela Merkel welcomed the “broad consensus” with Japanese head of government Shinzo Abe on climate policy, mentioning three areas of agreement: the acceptance that climate change is mainly caused by humans, the need for sustainable targets for reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which are binding and which are adhered to by more and more countries, and the need for such targets to be set at United Nations level.
Having “reached common understanding that, in order to stabilise the greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere …, urgent and strong action is needed. …, the EU and Japan are committed to take strong leadership towards the development of a fair, flexible, effective and comprehensive UN post 2012 framework that ensures the participation of all major emitting countries,” says the joint press statement, which goes on that the UN climate change conference in Bali in December 2007 “has crucial importance in this regard” and that negotiations for a framework agreement should be completed by 2012 at the latest “to avoid a gap” after that date. Both sides say that they are “united in the view that a long-term goal for reducing global GHG emissions by half or more by the year 2050 needs to be established”. Stressing that the efforts of developed countries will not be sufficient, both parties feel that “new approaches for fair contributions by other countries are needed”. Finally, European and Japanese leaders stress the G8's crucial role to constructively engage with key energy consuming and greenhouse gas emitting countries, with a view to supporting UN negotiations for a comprehensive framework agreement. To this end, both sides recognise the importance of the development and transfer of technologies, improving energy efficiency and encouraging the use of market instruments such as emissions trading schemes, performance-based regulation and consumer labelling. They also say that will improve their cooperation in energy security in the following areas: transparency, predictability and stability of global markets; improving the investment climate in the energy sectors; enhancing energy efficiency and energy saving; diversifying the energy mix; ensuring the physical security of critical energy infrastructure; reducing energy poverty; addressing climate change and sustainable development; increased use of non-fossil fuels and low-carbon technologies, including clean coal technology, renewable energy resources; and the use of nuclear energy for those who opt for it.
International issues. The joint statement refers to the international issues traditionally debated at EU-Japan summits (security and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region, Japan-China relations, six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear programme, Afghanistan, the Middle East, etc) with particular emphasis on the parties' joint commitment to cooperate to foster stability in Central Asia, to promote sustainable development and contribute to the realisation of the Millennium goals, and to work for a balanced agreement to conclude the Doha Round.
Economic relations. The adoption of a document annexed to the joint statement devoted to the promotion of research and innovation, and of a joint action plan on the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) represents the summit's major economic steps forward.
Seeking to identify areas where the two parties could improve their cooperation, the joint document on promoting R&D and innovation speaks of exchanges of researchers, the ITER project, support for and cooperation with private sector initiatives, regulatory cooperation, a series of sectoral initiatives (life sciences and biotechnology, ICT and energy technologies) and IPR protection.
The joint IPR action plan, updating and strengthening the joint Initiative for the Enforcement of IPR in Asia that is already in place, is based on the creation and implementation of several joint initiatives (setting up bilateral information networks on IPR protection in third countries, support for SMEs, promotion of customs cooperation, information sharing on IPR infringement through counterfeiting and awareness-raising in third countries, cooperation on geographical indications and technical assistance to third countries) and joint initiatives to strengthen the multilateral framework against piracy and counterfeiting.
Finally, with a view to facilitating bilateral trade, Europeans and Japanese initialled a bilateral agreement on customs cooperation to simplify and harmonise customs procedures for reliable operators and to provide the means needed to combat customs fraud and to exchange information on mutual assistance issues. Both sides agreed to take the necessary measures ahead of the official signing of the agreement in the coming months. (eh)