Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-05-09-Speech-1-168-000"
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"en.20110509.21.1-168-000"2
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"Madam President, the tsunami and earthquake that hit Japan last March constituted a major tragedy. The resilience of the Japanese people reassures us that Japan will be able to overcome that tragedy and to emerge from it stronger than before. The help offered and the solidarity expressed by the EU will also be instrumental in achieving this recovery.
This could be achieved through a so-called ‘scoping’ exercise, which could be conducted after the summit. Once that has been done, we would examine the results and decide whether or not to launch the negotiations.
On the trade and economic side, the level of ambition should include, at least, aiming for the following: 100% duty and quota-free treatment for all goods; a robust and credible road map for eliminating a critical mass of non-tariff measures; an open investment regime to achieve levels of foreign direct investment into Japan comparable to those of other OECD countries; and a government procurement market with a level of openness matching those of the EU countries at all levels of government.
I should also mention that, if the summit leaders decide to go ahead with the option of a comprehensive bilateral legal framework, this should include both trade and investment relations and political relations and cooperation.
This comprehensive approach, encompassing all bilateral, political and economic relations in a balanced way, is necessary in order to fulfil our targets and our ambitions for a deeper strategic partnership.
We are, indeed, at a crucial stage in our economic relations with Japan, and there are still some issues that need to be clarified. I therefore welcome this debate and look forward to hearing your views on how we should shape this relationship in the years to come.
This tragedy came a few months before a very important summit between the EU and Japan, scheduled for 28 May 2011, which is set to define the direction of our relationship for the years to come.
As you know, the previous EU-Japan Summit of April last year established a joint high-level group composed of senior officials to identify options for the comprehensive strengthening of all aspects of the EU-Japan relationship, in the political, economic and sectoral cooperation fields. On the trade side, the high-level group looked into ways of strengthening and integrating the economic relationship, addressing all issues of interest to both parties. These include tariffs, non-tariff measures, investments and procurement.
From Japan’s side, the clearly stated preferred option is to start negotiations on a free trade agreement which includes preferential tariffs. However, from the EU side, an agreement focusing on tariffs would clearly not be enough. The problem with Japan is, indeed, not so much tariffs but the fact that EU exporters and investors still face all sorts of non-tariff barriers. Typical examples of these include cumbersome approval processes for medical equipment and certain food products, and lack of convergence with internationally recognised standards for car parts and components.
Barriers in these areas have been in place in the Japanese market for decades. We have raised these matters in the various bilateral dialogues between Japan and the EU over the past few years but little progress has been achieved so far.
In the light of this, we would need an agreement that would also tackle non-tariff barriers, increase market access for investment and open the Japanese public procurement market.
The focus of the high-level group’s trade discussions has been on exploring how to achieve progress on these issues. A degree of progress has thus been delivered on a limited number of non-tariff measures from a list identified by the EU, namely three out of 27, but for most non-tariff measures on the list, we feel that Japan has failed to present a credible road map demonstrating how the problems should be solved. So, in the Commission’s view, what has been achieved in the high-level group provides, at this stage, no more than a good basis for further discussion.
On 25 March 2011, the European Council reiterated the strategic importance of the EU-Japan relationship, confirming that ‘the forthcoming summit must be used to strengthen this relationship and bring forward our common agenda’. In this regard, the conditions for a successful FTA should be explored on the basis that Japan can demonstrate its willingness to tackle, inter alia, non-tariff barriers and restrictions on public procurement.
Discussions are still ongoing with Japan. Last week, I met Foreign Minister Matsumoto precisely to discuss this matter. In my opinion, it is not yet clear how far we can progress, in the limited time before the EU-Japan Summit, with regard to fulfilling the Council’s conditions. In particular, more work is needed in order to arrive at a shared level of ambition on agreeing the contents of the negotiation, as well as an ambitious but realistic outcome."@en1
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