Press Release: EU-Japan Ministerial Meeting, Brussels, 11.1.00

At the first EU-Japan Ministerial meeting of the new Millennium, held in Brussels 11.1.00, the European Commission emphasised the need to strengthen co-operation and dialogue with Japan across all domains in pursuit of commonly held interests. The highlight of the meeting, which focused on economic issues, was the adoption of an EU-Japan joint statement on the WTO emphasising the importance both sides attach to the multilateral trading system based on the WTO and the need to launch negotiations on a New Round as soon as possible. The meeting also focused on the state of the Japanese economy where the Commission encouraged Japan to press ahead with vigorous regulatory reforms, referring in this context to its proposals of November 1999.