EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT DELEGATION FOR RELATIONS WITH JAPAN. 26 TH INTERPARLIAMENTARY MEETING EP/JAPAN May 2005 in Tokyo & Kyoto REPORT

Transcription

1 EUROPEAN PARLIAMT DELEGATION FOR RELATIONS WITH JAPAN 26 TH INTERPARLIAMTARY MEETING EP/JAPAN May 2005 in Tokyo & Kyoto REPORT 1 ST WORKING SESSION 16 MAY 2005 European Parliament Delegation Chairman Mr Georg JARZEMBOWSKI and Japanese Diet Delegation Chairman Mr Taro NAKAYAMA introduced their respective members. A. International political and security issues Mr Jarzembowski stated that democracies governed by the rule of law and human rights should come together on the basis of their values, i.e. should be able to participate in peacekeeping operations and thus have the necessary forces to do so. With regard to China, in his view, China was in the midst of an economic transition but still had a dictatorial political regime. The human rights situation had not yet evolved sufficiently to warrant the lifting of the embargo, and the adoption of the anti-secession law had brought additional threats to the stability of the region, thereby justifying the continuation of the embargo. Taiwan, a democratic state, should be entitled to self-determination. Japan should have the same status as China in the UN Security Council (including the right of veto). Mr Hayashi said that regional cooperation in Asia could not function in the absence of common values. That was what distinguished the situation in Europe from that in Asia. Mr Akamatsu pointed out that from 1972 to the end of the Cold War, Japan's relations with its neighbours had improved. Since then, tensions were increasing at the same rate as the stronger relationships which all sides wished to maintain. Referring to the issue of the history textbooks, he referred to the persisting anti-japanese education in China. China had attempted to get the embargo lifted also to divide the EU and the USA. Mr Ford said that Japan had a lot of progress to make before it could be considered a 'normal' country, citing the example of Iraq, where the Japanese were not involved in genuine intervention but needed to be protected by the Dutch. He mentioned the EP's forthcoming sending of its first delegation to North Korea, stressing the EP's requirement that the EU be involved in the attempt to resolve the nuclear issue according to the 'no say-no pay' principle. He pointed out that South Korea saw no problems in lifting the embargo, and that EU policy and the code of conduct were both based on the 'one China' principle. Regarding Japan's bid for Security Council membership, he insisted that Japan would first need to focus on its history, but that the rewriting of Article 9 was not a precondition. CR\ doc PE

2 Mr Masuzoe said that Germany, Italy and Japan should all join the Security Council, but if Japan was too aggressive with this policy objective, objections would be raised by China and Korea. The illegal occupation of the Kuril Islands by Russia was an unresolved problem. Japan should not agree to abandon them in exchange for Russian support for the Security Council. He questioned the European delegation on its vision of stability in and around Russia, particularly in Central Asia. Mr Jarzembowski pointed out that although China was a dictatorship it nevertheless had good relations with India, the Philippines, South Korea, etc., while Japan, a democratic country, could not manage to make friends in the region, and China was taking advantage of this. It would be to Japan's benefit to base its alliances on democracy and human rights rather than on a market perspective. Japan's territorial conflicts concerned minor territories. Japan should follow the examples of other countries which had agreed to let go of often far larger territories in order to acquire peace and stability. Mr Tamura questioned the European delegation on the development of the ESDP and whether or not it would compete with NATO. Mr Hironaka said that although the current Constitution might have been imposed by the occupying forces, a large number of Japanese approved its pacifist spirit. Japan had apologised to its neighbours and had contributed to cooperation. And yet recently, criticisms had been expressed and certain statements had been blown up out of all proportion. It was not Japan's fault - what could it do about it? In Mr Nakagawa's view, Japan needed to develop its own strategic thinking, independently of the US. This did not mean increasing its military forces or equipping itself with nuclear weapons. It would be advisable to move from bilateral to multilateral agreements, but such negotiations would be difficult given the nervousness of Japan's neighbours. The issue of the abductions of Japanese citizens by North Korea was a matter relating to human rights, not a reason for bilateral confrontation, as was the issue of North Korean refugees. China should also get involved. Mr Newton-Dunn pointed out that the inclusion of Germany and Italy alongside the two current EU members who were permanent members of the Security Council was an embarrassing issue. The future of the ESDP was hard to imagine, as it was a developing policy, still in the making / Central Asia. He made clear that the EU did not mean an absence of tensions between neighbours, but a set of rules for dealing with tensions effectively. Mr Gollnisch made a connection between Iraq and North Korea Iraq had disarmed and so war had been waged against it; the DPRK had drawn logical conclusions from this. Mr Haruda pointed out that 22% of the UN budget came from Japan. Japan was not isolated. True, there were tensions with China and the Republic of Korea, but there were also many contacts and exchanges despite the long-standing territorial issues. Japan had good relations with India and ASEAN and had no problem with China's position on Taiwan. He could not understand why so much importance was being attached to the minor issue of the Yakusuni shrine. PE /6 CR\ doc

3 B. Constitutional debate in Japan Mr Nakayama recalled that the process to revise the Constitution had begun 5 years ago. At the time, the SPJ and CPJ opposed the revision, but they still took part in the debate in a constructive way. Everybody was aware of the revision of Article 9. Besides Japan's ambitions concerning peacekeeping and a UN role, the question of abductions by North Korea had increased sensitivity about security issues. But one of the reasons for constitutional change was the demographic trend, which meant that Japan would have to accommodate more foreigners and ensure that it had a proper human rights framework for this new situation. The Supreme Court was to be given further powers to assess the compliance of the laws with the Constitution. Mr Gollnisch asked to what extent the Japanese considered their constitution to be national or externally imposed, and, with regard to Article 9, raised the issue of the link between diplomatic influence and capacity for military engagement. Mr Nakayama replied that even though the constitution had been adopted under US domination, the post-war Japanese had made it their own, adhering strongly to its pacifist principles. The new constitution confirmed the principle that Japan would remain a peaceful country and would only use its forces to defend itself or for peacekeeping operations. The new text should extend the definition of defence to participation in collective defence arrangements; the defence of the country could not be seen only as a task to be carried out by Japan alone. The imperial system was not being called into question and its symbolism was no longer a problem. The people would no longer want the Emperor to be the real head of state Mr Jarzembowski asked whether the abolition of the death penalty had been considered in the new Human Rights framework of the new Constitution. Mr Nakayama replied that this was a judiciary matter rather than a constitutional one. Mr Eda confirmed that the DPJ supported the constitutional process under way. C. EU political situation Mrs Kaufmann first commented on the ongoing referendum debate in France and the lack of information among the political class as well as among the general public in the EU; Mrs Wortmann-Kool then explained the Dutch situation and Mr Harbour outlined the situation in the UK. 2 ND WORKING SESSION 17 MAY 2005 D. Economic and trade relations - Japanese economy Mr Tsushima gave an overview of the Japanese economic outlook. In 2004 the economy had recovered somewhat compared to previous years. He nevertheless said that public opinion needed to come face-to-face with economic realities and that some major structural reforms needed to be carried out. Mr Tsushima also pointed out the risk factors threatening the Japanese CR\ doc 3/6 PE

4 economy, i.e. oil prices, the budget deficit, weak domestic consumption and the negative impact of the US trade deficit. Mr Harbour stressed the importance of the Japanese economy in the global context and for the European Union, highlighting the progress it had made in competition-related matters and in its forward-looking legislation. At the same time he encouraged Japan actively to pursue its reforms, also in order to resolve the situation in certain sectors which were still highly monopolistic, such as the transport sector. He welcomed Japan's performance in terms of productivity. Mr Masuzoe pointed out that despite the progress achieved in terms of growth, consumption remained stagnant. He believed that the great taxation disparities were to blame for this, and called for wage rises. Mr Hayasishi referred to the generally more positive attitude towards the Chinese economy than towards the growth of Japan in the 1970s and 80s. Mr Panzeri spoke about the role of the trade unions vis-à-vis the specific characteristics of the Japanese economy. Mr Masuzoe replied, highlighting the traditional cooperation in Japanese firms with the 'in-house' trade unions. Mr Lewandowski noted that the Japanese economy was still fairly closed. Mr Tamura wondered how domestic consumption could be boosted in an ageing society in which the pensions system was causing great problems, and which had to deal with a high rate of youth unemployment. - European economy Mr Sánchez Presedo gave an overview of the European economy, highlighting in particular the consequences of the latest enlargement. He also stressed the importance of the euro in the development of the European economy and the establishment of an integrated financial services market. Nevertheless, he did not forget to point out the current difficulties of the EU which, like Japan, had insufficient domestic consumption, and he also stressed the need for in-depth reforms, such as those indicated in the Lisbon Strategy. Mr Taniguchi referred to the European 'Prospectus' and 'Transparency' directives. He approved the idea of approximating the various accounting systems as far as possible, noting that the new International Accounting Standards' rules were now similar to those in Japan. He hoped that equivalent systems could be achieved. Mr Tamura spoke about the euro, its impact on the economies of the Member States and on the implementation of the stability and growth pact, and wondered about the future developments of the single currency in relation to international trade. He also mentioned international economic relations between the EU and Japan, the role of the European development policy concerning Africa and China's behaviour with regard to industrial property rights. Mr Lewandowski explained the position of the new EU Member States, in particular on the issue of agricultural aid, from both a budgetary and legislative point of view. Mrs Wortmann-Kool answered the questions concerning the implementation of the stability and growth pact. PE /6 CR\ doc

5 - World economy Mr Hirano outlined the problems stemming from the weakness of the Chinese currency and the impact of that weakness on the other great international currencies, such as the dollar, euro, UK pound and yen. Mr Newton-Dunn once again spoke of issues relating to copyrights and, more generally, counterfeiting, which called for more coordinated action from police forces, be it in Europe, the US or Asia. The level of cooperation between Member States on crime-fighting was still very weak and Europol was far from being a European FBI. Mr Jarzembowski recognised that the development aid policy concerning Africa had not been as effective as we would have liked owing to the instability and incompetence of African governments. He also made a number of comments on agricultural aid and policies in favour of the environment and spatial planning. 3 RD WORKING SESSION 17 MAY 2005 E. Cooperation between Japan and the European Union - Cooperation in scientific and technical matters. Mr Virrankoski gave a presentation on the future agreement on the research and technology programme between Japan and the EU, and Mr Harbour made some further comments. Mr Yoshii sharply criticised the principle of ITER and of the feasibility of fusion-based power generation given the technological constraints; Mr Ford added that the project was a waste of resources. Mr Jarzembowski rejected these objections, pointing out, on the contrary, the long-term benefits which could be enjoyed by all participants. Mr Ohata agreed, as did Mr Tsushima, who gave a detailed answer to Mr Yoshii's comments, stating that, on the contrary, an overwhelming majority of scientists supported the ITER project and that the US were also closely linked to it. Mr Newton-Dunn spoke about European space activities, stressing Europe's success in the field of space shuttles, which meant that it was NASA's only true rival. He also wondered why Japan did not join forces with Europe in its GALILEO project. Mr Ohata pointed out that Japan was also active in the area of space shuttles, although to a limited extent, and Mr Ford spoke of China's space-related activities. Lastly, Mrs Tomon stressed that greater use should be made of renewable energies. - Environmental issues Mr Jarzembowski underlined the importance of environmental issues for all industrialised countries, and the need to reach global solutions. Mr Hironaka stressed how essential environmental education was. Mr Panzeri was anxious to point out the financial impact of the Kyoto Protocol on companies. Mr Ohata stressed the need to take a global approach to all these issues, as well as to all the problems relating to copyright and industrial property rights. CR\ doc 5/6 PE

6 - Cooperation in cultural matters Mrs Badía recalled the importance of culture in the principles underlying European unification and in particular in the Constitutional Treaty, and the concern the EU shared with Japan about the protection of IPRs. Mr Araki contrasted the EU's diversity with Japan's homogeneity, but highlighted the common interest of protection of cultural diversity. He confirmed the good relations between the EU and Japan with regard to actions concerning the protection of copyright. Mr Salvini said that despite stated principles, the budget lines for culture were among the smallest in the EU budget, most of it being used on "propaganda" projects, and that every day two languages disappeared in the world. He stressed the opposition of many citizens to the Constitution, saying that they rejected most of the EU's policies and the possible accession of Turkey. Mr Ford dismissed Mr Salvini's remarks as highly unrepresentative of the EP's mainstream positions. Mr Nakagawa enquired about the dialectics of integration and national identity. Mr Gollnisch highlighted a number of areas in which EU legislation made autonomous national decisions impossible, asking whether Japan would tolerate a similar relinquishment of its sovereignty. He also called for the presentation of traditional Japanese houses. Mrs Badía pointed out that the consequences of EU integration were positive for the promotion of national and local cultures and languages rather than the opposite. F. Conclusion The members of both delegations approved by a large majority the final statement submitted to them. However, reservations were expressed by Mr Yoshii on the Japanese side and by Messrs Ford and Gollnisch on the EP side, who pointed out that the text did not reflect the diversity of opinions expressed in their respective parliaments. PE /6 CR\ doc