Fact Sheets on the European Union – 2 - EU Bookshop - Europa

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The EU’s external
relations 4
Relations with certain countries
and regions
legislation, trade and customs regulations, visa and work
permits, intellectual property protection, financial services, the
EU chemical policy (REACH) and new environmental directives
affecting products such as batteries, electrical waste and
chemicals.
B. Political dialogue
The current structure of the political dialogue between the EU
and Japan was set out in the joint declaration of 1991 and
consists of: annual consultations between the President of the
European Council, the President of the Commission and the
Japanese Prime Minister; annual meetings between the
Commission and the Japanese government at ministerial level;
two annual meetings between the foreign ministers of the
EU troika including the Commissioner in charge of Foreign
Relations and the Japanese Foreign Minister, and two annual
meetings between the EU political directors troika and the
Japanese Political Director.
At the 2000 Tokyo Summit the EU and Japan launched a
decade of cooperation (2001–11) which gave a decisive
impetus to the overall EU–Japan relationship and which
defined ambitious objectives for a comprehensive and actionoriented
partnership.
The 17th EU–Japan summit took place in Tokyo on 23 April
2008. The leaders reviewed the implementation of the action
plan for EU–Japan cooperation and set priorities for action to
be taken by the time of the next summit. They also discussed a
wide range of issues aiming at creating a more effective
partnership to address key international issues (especially
climate change, development issues and the world trade
system) more effectively and identify constructive solutions to
bilateral issues.
C. Trade and investment
Trade and investment links between Japan and the EU remain
strong. The Japanese market is opening more and more to
foreign competition. Yet, total foreign investment in Japan
remains very low (less than 2 % of GDP), if compared with
other developed countries. The EU remains the leading foreign
direct investor (FDI) in Japan, but total amounts are falling. In
2003/04 Europe had a 33 % share (JPY700 billion) of inward FDI
to Japan (compared to JPY1 400 billion in 1999/2000).
Likewise, Europe is a popular destination for Japanese
investment. Japan invested JPY1 400 billion in Europe in
2003/04, representing a 35 % share of Japan’s outward FDI,
with the US receiving just under 30 %.
Despite China now becoming Japan’s largest trading partner,
trade between the EU and Japan remains strong. From 1999 to
2003, EU exports to Japan grew by 3.5 % on average per year.
In 2004, 13 % of all Japan’s imports came from the EU (14 %
from US, 21 % from China) while the EU remained Japan’s
second largest market with 16 % of Japanese exports, behind
the US on 22 %.
The Union is concerned at the lack of a significant increase of
EU exports to Japan in certain sectors where, nevertheless, the
EU seems to be competitive internationally. A striking
illustration of this is EU exports of office machinery and
telecommunications equipment. Food products are another
category where Union exports to Japan should be larger.
Most of these trade issues are being tackled, not only in the
framework of WTO but also bilaterally. Europe is determined to
pursue certain unresolved matters bilaterally. In this context, a
mutual recognition agreement (MRA) entered into force on 1
January 2002. The MRA will cut red tape for trade and mean
annual savings for exporters of up to EUR 400 m. The MRA
permits acceptance of conformity assessment conducted in
one party according to the regulations of the other in four
product areas (telecommunications terminal equipment and
radio equipment, electrical products, good laboratory
practices for chemicals and good manufacturing practices for
pharmaceuticals), an important step in facilitating market
access.
The agreement on cooperation and anti-competitive activities
(Council decision of 16 June 2003) should facilitate bilateral
cooperation in assessing competition aspects of major merger
and acquisition cases.
In the WTO the EU and Japan, as the second and third largest
economies in the world, have established close policy
cooperation. Developing that cooperation is one of the key
initiatives in the action plan.
d. Cooperation in other sectors
The EU and Japan cooperate across a very broad range of
subjects. There are standing forums for discussion on sectors
such as industrial policy, science and technology, research,
telecommunications and related services, social affairs,
development aid, environmental protection, dialogue on
macroeconomics and financial issues as well as transport
issues. The EU and Japan are partners in the international
thermonuclear experimental reactor (ITER) project, for which
an agreement has been reached on its location in France.
Japan, the EU, the US and Korea cooperate in the Korean
Energy Development Organisation (KEDO). KEDO was formed
because of the need to reduce the risk of nuclear proliferation
in North Korea and promote the peaceful uses of nuclear
energy. The European Commission supports the EU–Japan
Business Dialogue Round Table (EUJBDRT), a private sector
initiative to strengthen links between European and Japanese
businesses, and welcomes focused private sector input to
government authorities to promote trade and investment
between Europe and Japan. The EUJBDRT contributes to the
identification of mutually beneficial initiatives and keeps close
track of the progress achieved by both the European and the
Japanese administrations.
Role of the European Parliament
Since 1979, a delegation from the European Parliament meets
most years with a delegation from the Japanese Parliament, the
Diet, comprising members of the Upper and the Lower House,
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