"The European Union appreciates the contribution of Japan to stability and security in the world and more specifically in its region": Benita Ferrero-Waldner, EU Commissioner for external relations, explains some of the items on the agenda of today’s summit between the EU and the Asian country. In Berlin, in the run-up to the G8, the representatives of the 27 member states are meeting the leaders of the "great" ones: after yesterday’s summit with Canada, today it is the turn of Japan. "Discussions focus explains the Commissioner on the political and economic aspects of our relations, as well as on several issues of international concern", including energy, climate change, regional cooperation in the Far East, the state of things in Afghanistan and Iran. The EU cooperates with Tokyo on the basis of a joint action plan they signed in 2001, which pursues four goals: "promoting peace and security; strengthening trade flows; joining forces to face world challenges; bringing peoples and cultures closer together". The 27-member EU and Japans, together, account for 40% of the world’s Gross Domestic Product: the main items on the agenda are "international trade agreements and the protection of the environment after 2012", which marks the deadline for the current Protocol of Kyoto.
