21st Annual Meeting of the EU-Japan Business Round Table

JOINT RECOMMENDATIONSThe EU & Japan – Acting together in a global world
15 May 2019, Brussels (Final)

The 21st annual meeting of the EU-Japan Business Round Table (BRT) took place in Brussels on 15 May 2019.
It celebrated the entry into force of the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and addressed EUJapan overall economic cooperation in a challenging global environment. In addition to the detailed
recommendations prepared by its four working parties (see the appendix), the BRT makes the following
recommendations and declarations:
Economic Partnership Agreement and global trade issues – The entry into force of the EPA is a monumental
achievement1 and should be of great benefit to the EU and Japan. However, for the EPA to form a strong
foundation for the new EU-Japan relationship, the BRT would welcome the EU and Japan to: Apply the EPA through the active work of the EPA’s joint and specialised committees, in order to ensurethat its provisions are applied fully and in accordance with the staging foreseen.
 Together with public and private stakeholders in Japan and across the EU, ensure a raising of awarenessof the EPA, its benefits and the opportunities it creates. Specific actions to encourage and facilitate
SMEs’ use of the EPA are strongly recommended.
 Pursue regulatory cooperation by working with industry, other stakeholders and likeminded countries
to develop standards for new technologies and thereby encourage their dissemination and take-up.
 Continue to work with other trading partners to pursue WTO reform as the means for strengthening
and updating the multilateral rules-based trading system, especially under Japan’s presidency of theG20.
Strategic Partnership Agreement – The BRT believes that the several of the issues identified in the SPA2 could
create new benefits for society and new opportunities for industry and are topics that the BRT would bewilling to address. These include: industrial cooperation; science, technology and innovation; transport;
space; and urban policy (incl. exchanges on best practices for demographic and climate issues).
Digital Economy – The BRT cannot overstate the critical role of an information society that underpins ourindustries, our economies and our society. AI, IoT, Big Data, robotics and initiatives such as Society 5.0 andFactories of the Future will provide solutions for economic, industrial, environmental and societal challenges,
provided that fundamental rights of citizens and consumers are safeguarded. The BRT, therefore: Welcomes the adoption of the Adequacy Decision3 allowing for the transfer of personal data between
the EU and Japan.
 Supports ideas contained in the SPA 4 , to enhance EU-Japan cooperation on key aspects of theinformation society and to promote and protect human rights and the free flow of data to the1

See the BRT statement of 01/02/2019 entitled A New Era for the EU and Japan Starts Today
See https://www.mofa.go.jp/erp/ep/page22e_000707.html
3
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-19-421_en.htm
4Refer to Articles 21 and 36 of the SPA
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maximum extent possible in cyberspace, including establishing and developing international norms
and promoting confidence building measures.
 Recognises the importance of international cooperation to promote the free flow of data while
ensuring privacy and security, i.e., Data Free Flow with Trust (DFFT), and Strongly supports the EU and Japan in their efforts to participate in the commencement of WTO
negotiations on trade-related aspects of electronic commerce in order to further enhance thebenefits of electronic commerce for businesses, consumers and the global economy.5
Bilateral investment / investment cooperation in third countries – The BRT is encouraged, and recognises
the strong synergy represented by the MOUs signed last year by the EIB, JBIC, and NEXI that “aim to promote
cooperation between the parties to support sustainable economic and social development and to createbusiness opportunities for Japan and the EU both within and outside Europe.”6
 The BRT urges the EIB, JBIC, and NEXI to realise the MOUs to their fullest extent possible with theactive participation and engagement of industry and businesses in the EU and Japan.
Circular economy and SDGs – The BRT welcomes the EU and Japan’s decision7 to enhance their exchange ofviews and policy coordination on sustainable development including action at a global level and throughinternational and regional fora.
 The EU and Japan must show leadership to address current and future world challenges in the fieldof sustainability and CSR, including through collaborative action and tangible projects on sustainablebusiness practices in third countries, while the EU and Japanese Authorities are urged to provide
platforms, infrastructure and incentives to promote practical collaboration.
 Sustainable finance represents a mechanism that can positively impact, and represents the realities
in, industries across numerous sectors. Therefore, the BRT calls on the respective EU and Japanese
authorities to support the mechanisms of sustainable finance.
Brexit – The BRT notes with concern the progress of the process for the UK to exit the European Union, and,recognises the importance of a smooth exit from the EU to minimise and mitigate the potentially adverse
impact economically, commercially, and politically vis-a-vis Europe and Japan, while, stressing the utmost
need for the continuity of UK-EU relationships to be maintained to the greatest extent possible through anytransitional period and beyond.
Future policy priorities & engagement in challenging global environments – This month’s European
Parliament elections and the subsequent appointment of a new European Commission later in the year,
together with the new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), will create new policy priorities for the EU
and potentially new opportunities for EU-Japan cooperation (in the field of security and defence for instance): Within a like-minded and close partnership, the EU and Japan should strive to work together at theG7 and G20 in support of a rules-based international economic order by promoting shared values,delivering on past commitments, and addressing emerging challenges.
 The BRT also recognises the importance of the WTO negotiations as the stepping stone to develop
global trade rules, while giving political impetus to that end under Japan’s presidency of the G20.
 The BRT fully supports the letter, and spirit, of the Joint Statement released on the occasion of the26th EU-Japan Summit held in Brussels on April 25, an event that exemplifies the strengthening of therelationship between the EU and Japan through the EPA and SPA.
 Finally, the BRT recommends that its future Annual Meetings represent the preferred venue for theactive engagement of the respective governments and private industry as the new era for the EU andJapan unfolds.

5See WTO Joint Statement On Electronic Commerce, 25 January 2019 (WT/L/1056)
See EIB Press Release, 23 October 20187
See Article 11 of the Strategic Partnership Agreement
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