Press Release: European Commission and Japan look to improve conditions for investment

On 26.10.00, the bi-annual EU-Japan High-Level Meeting on Regulatory Reform took place in Tokyo. Mr. Fernando Valenzuela, Deputy Director General for External Relations of the European Commission co-chaired with Director-General Hitoshi Tanaka of the Economic Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This meeting formed part of the two-way dialogue on regulatory reform between the EU and Japan. The meeting stressed the continuing importance of the EU-Japan Regulatory Reform dialogue. The European Commission called for crucial reforms designed to boost the economy, in particular concerted strong action to improve the business environment for investors, an independent regulatory authority and increased competition in the telecoms sector and the strict enforcement of competition policy.