Japan-EU relationship:

The implementation of the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) from February 2019 provided the basis for the conference discussion concerning trade and economic issues. The EPA, being the largest free trade agreement ever concluded, is of course very important, especially at present when some other countries instead have turned more towards protectionism. Moreover, the EPA provides predictability, transparency, and a roadmap for the development of EU-Japan trade and investment ties in the years to come. Regarding the EU-Japan Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA), which was concluded in tandem with the EPA, and is now under provisional implementation, the picture is much more vague. While the EU and Japan have defined the priorities areas, i.e. the areas Brussels and Tokyo have chosen from a list of more than 40 areas formulated in the SPA – discussions on how and when to do this have only just begun. The purpose of this publication is to take a few of the most innovative ideas presented at the conference and add some new thoughts and initiatives that have developed since then. In this way we aim to make several policy recommendations that we believe can assist in moving forward mutually and globally beneficial EU-Japan cooperation in several diverse fields.