Council Regulation (EC) No 1035/1999 of 11 May 1999 on implementation by the Commission of a programme of specific measures and actions to improve access of European Union goods and cross-border services to Japan
Date: 1999-05-11
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU programme, Japan, action programme, international market, market access, market organisation

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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I

(Acts whose publication is obligatory)

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1035/1999

of 11 May 1999

on implementation by the Commission of a programme of specific measures and
actions to improve access of European Union goods and cross-border services to
Japan

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community and in particular Article 133 and Article 308
thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parlia-
ment (1),

Having regard to the European Parliament’s Resolution of
18 September 1997 on the Communication from the
Commission to the Council on ‘Europe and Japan: the
next steps' (2),

(1) Whereas the Council’s Conclusions of 29 May
1995 on the Commission’s Communication on
Japan recognised the distinct and specific prob-
lems of market access in Japan; whereas, in the
light of this, the Council considered that priority
should be given to improving access to the Japan-
ese market; whereas the Council has emphasised
the need for complementarity between the actions
of the Community and those of the Member States,
in particular in its Conclusions on Market Access
of 13 May and 10 June 1996;

(2) Whereas it is the primary responsibility of Member
States to draw up and implement programmes of
measures and actions to support the efforts of their
exporters to build up a commercial presence in
foreign markets;

(3) Whereas the implementation of appropriate meas-
ures and actions to improve access of European
Union goods and cross-border services to Japan
and to eliminate trade barriers should contribute to
reducing the Community’s trade imbalance with
Japan;

(1) Opinion delivered on 13 April 1999 (not yet published in the

Official Journal).

(2) OJ C 304, 6.10.1997, p. 119.

(4) Whereas, in order to compete successfully in the
Japanese market, Community enterprises should
strive to establish permanent business relationships
in Japan; whereas this requires them to confront
the challenges posed by Japan’s unique market
requirements and local business practices and
complex distribution structures and trade and
investment
by
regulations; whereas
Member States and the Community can assist
enterprises to overcome the difficulties resulting
therefrom in the early stages of their marketing and
investment efforts;

support

(5) Whereas continuing efforts need to be made to
build up a pool of European business expertise in
Japan, in particular through the longstanding and
valued Executive Training Programme, in order to
prepare European companies to take advantage of
new market openings and to ensure that they are
not placed at a disadvantage compared to their
foreign competitors;

(6) Whereas the specificity of the Japanese market led
the Commission,
in coordination with Member
States, to set up the second ‘Gateway to Japan'
campaign in 1997 to complement and back up the
activities of Member States in this field; whereas
this campaign is at
its mid-term point and its
immediate discontinuation would lead to a loss of
for
investment
executing the campaign; whereas in the current
economic climate in Japan, the ‘Gateway to Japan'
campaign should continue until its expiry at the
end of 2000, in order to support the continuing
efforts by Member States;

in the network

responsible

(7) Whereas support may be given to other specific
actions designed, inter alia, to facilitate access to
the Japanese market by Community enterprises,
to identify and eliminate trade
notably SMEs,

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to collect

barriers in accordance with the Community market
access strategy outlined in Council Decision 98/
552/EC of 24 September 1998 (1), to bring high
level business missions to Japan to address specific
information on
market access issues,
specific regulatory issues in the field of
trade,
investment and intellectual property rights in the
Japanese market affecting Community business
interests, to establish conferences and seminars to
promote European Union-Japan trade and invest-
ment
to
enhance the visibility of the European Union in
Japan;

and to promote initiatives

relations

(8) Whereas the objectives and operating criteria of the
programme of specific measures and actions in the
area of goods and cross-border provision of services
to be undertaken is to be defined by the Commis-
sion in close cooperation with representatives of
the Member States;

(9) Whereas this Regulation provides for measures to
remove trade barriers, to facilitate market access, to
promote investment and to promote the export of
European Union goods and cross-border services;

(10) Whereas part of the activities falling within the
scope of this Regulation are covered by Article 133
of the Treaty; whereas, for the other activities, the
Treaty does not provide for powers other than
those in Article 308 thereof;

(11) Whereas

this Regulation is

to expire on 31

December 2001,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

In cooperation with Member States, who are primarily
responsible for
the design and implementation of
to promote the exports of
programmes and actions
Community goods and cross-border services in third
country markets,
implement a
specific, coherent and targeted programme of measures
and actions that complement and bring added value to
the efforts undertaken by Member States in the Japanese
market.

the Community shall

their exports of goods and cross-border services to third
country markets shall not be affected by this Regulation.

Article 2

1. Within the limits established annually by the budget
authority, the Community programme shall consist of the
following two principal measures and actions:

(a) a

training programme (‘Executive Training Pro-
gramme') to build up a pool of European executives
able to communicate and operate in the Japanese
business environment,

(b) the recruitment, training, pre-mission preparation and
participation of groups of European business execut-
ives, notably from SMEs, to participate in actions in
Japan aimed at improving their commercial presence
on the Japanese market
(the ‘Gateway to Japan'
campaign). The objective of the campaign shall be:

(cid:190) to enhance trade and investment relations with

Japan,

(cid:190) to increase the understanding of Japanese trade
and investment regulations and business practices.

2.
In addition to the measures and actions referred to
in paragraph 1, support may be given to the following
actions and measures, where appropriate:

(a) special actions that facilitate access to the Japanese
market by Community enterprises, notably SMEs;

(b) special measures

to identify and eliminate trade
barriers in accordance with the Community’s market
access strategy;

(c) the collection of information and policy advice on
specific regulatory issues, in the field of trade, invest-
ment and intellectual property rights in the Japanese
market which may affect Community business inter-
ests;

(d) conferences and seminars

to promote trade and
investment relations between the European Union
and Japan and initiatives to enhance the visibility of
the European Union in Japan;

(e) high-level business missions
market access issues in Japan;

to address

specific

(f) studies to evaluate the effectiveness of measures and
actions undertaken within the framework of
this
Regulation.

The activities of Member States to draw up and imple-
ment policies, programmes and arrangements to promote

(1) OJ L 265, 30.9.1998, p. 31.

3. When implementing paragraph 2, the Commission
shall ensure the full compatibility of specific activities
with the policies of the Community and the Member
States, and shall make an annual report.

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Article 3

The Commission shall present

1.
to the European
Parliament and the Council by 1 September 2000 an
evaluation report including the results of the control and
monitoring operations financed; this report shall also take
account of contractual obligations and principles of sound
and efficient management. It shall include the results of a
cost effectiveness analysis.

In carrying out the activities referred to in Article 2,
2.
the Commission shall be assisted by a committee of an
advisory nature composed of the representatives of the
Member States and chaired by the representative of the
Commission.

The representative of the Commission shall submit to the
committee a draft of
the measures to be taken. The
Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft, within a

time limit which the chairman may lay down according
to the urgency of the matter, if necessary by taking a vote.

The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes; in addition,
each Member State shall have the right to ask to have its
position recorded in the minutes.

The Commission shall take the utmost account of the
opinion delivered by the committee. It shall inform the
committee of the manner in which its opinion has been
taken into account.

Article 4

This Regulation shall enter
into force on the day
following that of its publication in the Official Journal of
the European Communities.

It shall expire on 31 December 2001.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member
States.

Done at Brussels, 11 May 1999.

For the Council

The President

L. SCHOMERUS