Press Release: Vice-President Verheugen to visit Japan on 13/14 July to boost bilateral economic cooperation

European Commission Vice-President Günter Verheugen, responsible for enterprise and industry policy, will be visiting Tokyo on 13-14 July 2006 to explore new ways of enhancing economic cooperation with Japan. Mr Verheugen is expected to meet with his Japanese counterparts to discuss bilateral issues to enhance competitiveness, in particular ways to promote innovation, the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) and a more efficient fight against counterfeiting. Also on the agenda are ways to improving the framework conditions for European and Japanese business. During his trip, Vice-President Verheugen will also meet European and Japanese business representatives (the European Business Council in Japan and Nippon Keidanren, the Japanese Business Federation). He will also attend the annual meeting of the EU-Japan Business Dialogue Round Table and hold a press conference in the Japan National Press Club on 13 July.