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First Joint Committee Meeting established under the Agreement on Mutual Recognition between Japan and the European Community

March 1, 2002

  1. The first meeting of the Joint Committee, established as a body responsible for the effective functioning of the Agreement on Mutual Recognition between Japan and the European Community, will be held on March 5 (Tue) in Tokyo.

  2. Mr. Jun Shimmi, Director, First International Economic Affairs Division, Economic Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will be the co-chair of the Committee as the Japanese Government Representative. Representatives will also attend from the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, as well as the Ministry of the Environment. On the EC side, the delegation will be headed by Mr. Philippe Meyer, Head of Investment, Standards and Certification Unit, Directorate-General Trade, European Commission, who will act as the co-chair of the Joint Committee.

  3. Based on past discussions among experts, the first meeting will discuss the procedures for implementing the Agreement.

  4. The Agreement, which came into effect in January 2002, establishes a framework to enable an exporting party to undertake certain procedures that are required in the importing party at the time of imports with regard to the four fields of telecommunications equipment, electrical products, Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) for chemical products, and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) for medicinal products. The Agreement is aimed at promoting trade between Japan and Europe by reducing costs for companies engaged in trade of these products.

  5. The Agreement is the first bilateral agreement on mutual recognition for Japan. It also symbolizes the smooth progress of the Decade of Japan-Europe Cooperation which started in 2001. The Action Plan for EU-Japan Cooperation, adopted at the Japan-EU summit in December 2001, states that Japan and the EU will start implementing the Agreement with the expectation that mutual trade will be promoted.

  6. Information of the Agreement will be available on the web site of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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