Discussions begin on possible EU-Japan technology agreement
A meeting between EU Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin and Ms Toyama, Japanese Minister of education, sports and science, in Brussels on 10 January led to a decision to open exploratory talks on a scientific accord between the European Union and Japan. While cooperation between the two already takes place in a number of scientific areas, the accord would formalise cooperation and extend the areas in which it takes place. In addition to the existing cooperation in areas such as the environment, information technology and seismic risks, the accord would put in place cooperative work in the context of the plan of action adopted at the tenth EU-Japan summit which took place on 8 December 2001. Some of the main areas which are forecast to form part of the cooperation accord are linked to the fight against poverty and its symptoms, sustainable and economic social development and biotechnology and the issues surrounding it. Ms Toyama and Mr Busquin discussed the means of bringing this cooperation about, including the institutional procedures.