British influence helping promote EU

Date: 20/03/03

THE EU is making more of an impression in Japan these days, largely thanks to a concerted effort by the European Commission delegation.

One would, of course, expect the Commission and its ambassador Bernhard Zepter to say that.

However, the eulogy comes from the UK, which vies with France as the member state with the most influence in Tokyo.

First Secretary Giles Lever, who works in the British embassy's political section, says the Commission has been hugely successful in coordinating the work of member states in the Far East capital.

It helps the EU presidency organise regular meetings of the various officials according to their specific field of responsibility - for example, press counsellors, agriculture counsellors, trade counsellors and so on.

Moreover, it recently installed an intranet system to link up the various member state embassies in a bid to boost coherence in explaining EU policy.

Lever sees this is an important practical development, but acknowledges that Japan still feels "more comfortable" dealing with countries "on a state-by-state basis".

Perhaps contrary to some people's image of the British, Lever comes across as extremely clued-up about the workings of the EU.

He says the UK is "very positive about playing a constructive role for Europe" and that it provides "a lot of information" to help the Commission in its dealings with the Japanese bureaucracy.

In particular, the British Embassy has supported the Commission's campaign for Japan to loosen its restrictions on foreign lawyers working in the country.

The UK has also been at the forefront of efforts to persuade Japan of the necessity to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) from EU firms.

The UK itself has been notably successful in this area, with Cable & Wireless and Vodafone now established as major players in the Japanese telecoms sector.

Indeed, it's hard to walk down a street in downtown Tokyo without seeing a large picture of Manchester United star David Beckham advertising Vodafone.

Lever, who reassuringly produces a well-thumbed copy of the December 2001 EU-Japan Action Plan from his desk drawer, admits that each member state naturally wants to ensure that its companies are the ones making FDI inroads.

"But it's not a zero-sum game," he adds.

"It's possible to improve the EU's image without taking away from our primary function."

He also points out that the Japanese are "truly multilateralist" in outlook, and "instinctively closer to the EU" than Britain on specific issues, highlighting Tokyo's cautious approach to agricultural liberalisation at the World Trade Organization.

Japan's farmers are a very powerful lobby in the country: "Rice is a very sensitive issue, it's viewed in a quasi-spiritual way," he explains.

Nevertheless, Lever believes the EU still has a lot of work to do to explain how the Union functions to the bureaucracy: "Most still find it awkward to understand the structures and different pillars," he adds.

In the end, Commission delegation and member state embassies alike all agree on one thing: a simple constitution produced by the Convention on the future of Europe will make selling the EU to Japan just that little bit easier.

The EU is making more of an impression in Japan these days, largely thanks to a concerted effort by the European Commission delegation.