Third EU-Japan Industrial Policy and Industrial Cooperation Dialogue
The Third EU-Japan Industrial Policy and Industrial Cooperation Dialogue took place in Brussels on 19 June 1995, under the chairmanship of Yoshihiro Sakamoto, MITI Vice-Minister for International Affairs, and Stefano Micossi, Director-General responsible for industry at the European Commission. Since its establishment in 1993, this regular Dialogue between MITI and the Commission has enabled both sides to work closely together in order to initiate and follow programmes aimed at developing business contacts between EU and Japanese companies and to discuss industrial policy matters such as regulatory issues. The 1995 Dialogue welcomed the increasing R&D cooperation between EU and Japanese industries and underlined the importance of the development of exchange schemes. It reviewed existing fellowship programmes aimed at sending European researchers and engineers to Japanese laboratories and companies, and agreed to start consultations to initiate a new project called Vulcanus intended to provide top-level Japanese students with training in European industry. Both parties acknowledged the positive results of the EU-Japan industrial cooperation programmes in the fields of consumer electronics and car parts, and decided to continue to support them. They also decided to encourage new cooperation initiatives taken by the motorcycle and the construction equipment industries. MITI and the Commission also decided to launch a comprehensive review of the Centre for Industrial Cooperation, in view of the Centre's tenth anniversary next year. The main activities of the Centre until now have been the organization of training courses for senior EU businessmen and an information service on Japan's industrial structure and general market conditions. The fourth major area discussed was industrial policy, covering various subjects including the promotion of direct foreign investment in Japan, standards and regulations issues, industrial competitiveness and growth markets. Both parties expressed their satisfaction with the work done by the joint DG III-MITI Information Policy Working Group, set up in preparation for the February 1995 G7 Conference in order to exchange views on the development of the information society. They also agreed to set up a Working Group on Standards and Quality to discuss harmonization, conformity assessment and quality management. A working group on Biotechnology Policy (BPWG) has already been created as a forum for in-depth consultations on the development of bio-industry, which should be "friendly" both to the environment and to human health. The BPWG will exchange views and information on a wide variety of important biotechnology/bio-industry related policy issues in order to strengthen relations between DG III and MITI and to secure mutual benefits. Mr. Sakamoto and Mr. Micossi recalled that they would give close attention to the results of the Second EU-Japan Industrialists Round Table, to be held in Brussels on 9-10 November 1995, and whose purpose is to establish recommendations to public authorities on both sides and to share business experiences in order to strengthen business ties between European and Japanese industries. The next EU-Japan Dialogue will take place in Tokyo in 1996.
Countries
Japan