The EU-Japan BRT meets for the 25th time

On 7 November, the EU-Japan Business Round Table (or “BRT”) held its 25th annual meeting. The European Commission marked this milestone by hosting the meeting in its Berlaymont headquarters and by having Věra Jourová, Vice-President for Values & Transparency deliver the keynote address and receive the BRT’s 2023 recommendations on behalf of the Commission. 

Since its inaugural meeting in October 1999, the BRT annual meeting has brought together business leaders from the EU and Japan (the BRT’s official ‘principal members’) and senior representatives of the EU and Japanese Authorities to discuss and exchange on issues of common interest and concern, and for the BRT principal members to adopt practical recommendations to the EU and Japanese Authorities on ways to support official EU-Japan dialogues or to help develop trade and investment between the EU and Japan or together in third markets.

Indeed, as a 1999 Commission press release noted, the BRT, “has been set up as a forum for discussion and exchange of experiences in order to foster better understanding between the two sides and to enhance business cooperation projects. The Roundtable will discuss changes in the business environment, including the prospects for the European and Japanese economies in the wake of the recent crisis. Participants will address potential governmental measures, within the context of an increasingly open inter-continental trade and business background, and the development of the information society, in particular electronic commerce.”

This year, in addition to the keynote session, reports by working parties and ‘Joint Session with the EU and Japanese Authorities’, the BRT addressed four topics: ‘Economic Security & Supply Chains’; ‘Green Transition’; ‘Standardisation & regulatory harmonisation, R&D and skills’; and ‘Digital & AI’. This year, the BRT adopted 39 recommendations from both sides of the BRT to both the EU and Japanese Authorities, 10 recommendations from both sides of the BRT to just one Authority, 16 EU-side recommendations to one or both Authorities and 3 Japan-side recommendations to one or both Authorities.

In addition to Commission VP Jourová, other senior Authority participants included: Kiyoto Tsuji, State Minister for Foreign Affairs (MOFA); Nobuhiro Yoshida, Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Economy, Trade & Industry (METI); Kerstin Jorna, Director-General, DG GROW; Maria Martin-Prat, Deputy Director-General, DG TRADE and MIC’s Yoshikazu Okamoto, Deputy Director-General for International Economic Affairs, Global Strategy Bureau.

The 2023 annual meeting was co-chaired by Philippe Wahl (Chairman & CEO, La Poste Groupe for the last time) and Nobuhiro Endo (Executive Advisor, NEC Corporation for the first time) with Nikolaus Boltze (Country Representative Japan, thyssenkrupp AG) moderating some sessions. Although it was a hybrid meeting, most participants joined the meeting on-site in Brussels, although some joined it online from Japan and France. During the meeting, Mr Wahl announced that Belén Garijo (Chair of the Executive Board & CEO, Merck) would succeed him as the BRT’s EU-side Chair. During her acceptance speech, Ms Garijo underscored the importance of EU-Japan collaboration in times of growing uncertainty.

In its 2023 Joint Recommendations statement entitled, ‘The EU & Japan – partnering on economic security for sustainable growth’ the BRT included recommendations and pledges on economic security, green transition, digital, standardisation and other areas. Moreover, it congratulated the EU and Japanese Authorities for having reached an agreement on EU-Japan data flows, seeing the agreement as vital for companies that depend on free data flows between our two regions. The Statement concluded with the BRT reiterating the importance of shared values such as human rights, the rule of law, democracy and fundamental freedoms, and that ensuring a rules-based international order and multilateralism is essential; and calling on the EU and Japan to strengthen ties with like-minded countries and to operationalise the EU-Japan Connectivity Partnership in order to bring lasting benefits and create sustainable growth in partner countries.

Mr. Philippe Wahl, Chairman & CEO, La Poste Groupe; Mrs. Belén Garijo , Chair of the Executive Board & CEO, Merck