EU and Japanese leaders to ‘enhance partnership’

The leaders of the European Union and Japan have announced an agreement to “build on our existing, excellent co-operation and enhance our partnership” at the 22nd EU-Japan Summit.

In a joint statement, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe said: “Our strong, longstanding and dynamic relationship is founded on the common values of democracy, the rule of law, human rights, and shared principles such as open markets and a rules-based international system.”

The political leaders highlighted the “crucial contribution of EU-Japan co-operation in science, technology and innovation to promote growth, jobs and competitiveness, and to address shared societal challenges”.

They added : “Building on the progress achieved since the entry into force of our Agreement on Science and Technology, in particular in the key areas of mutual interest such as critical raw materials, aeronautics and information and communications technology, we aim for a new strategic partnership in research and innovation. We note the new opportunities offered in the context of Horizon 2020 and of the Japanese ‘Comprehensive STI Strategy’.”

They added that are committed to unlocking the full potential of co-operation between the EU and Japan and reflecting the excellence of their respective science bases and world-leading capacities in research and innovation. They aim to do so by addressing the issues of access to and participation in the respective research programmes.

The leaders said they are encouraged by the steady progress of co-operation in ICT through measures such as the success of the second high level ICT Security Workshop and the second co-ordinated call for proposals on research and development.