As part of its engagement with the EU and Japanese Authorities, the EU-Japan Business Round Table (BRT) took part in two stakeholder events linked to annual EU-Japan government-to-government dialogues. In February, the BRT co-Chair companies took part in a discussion around “Identifying concrete opportunities for EU-Japan industrial cooperation in a new geopolitical era” linked to the EU-Japan Industrial Policy Dialogue led by DG GROW and METI. NEC and Merck addressed how to structure joint engagement with business and how the private sector can support the design of new public-private partnerships. 

Merck’s Chris Thomas underlined that a regular business-to-government dialogue will ensure that policies are well-informed by industry insights and address clear challenges faced by society. To boost investment and innovation, regulatory frameworks should be clear and predictable and have a strong intellectual property mechanism. Regulations should be transparent and promote competition while ensuring consumer protection and environmental sustainability. The EU and Japan should pursue negotiating trade agreements, reducing trade barriers, and promoting exports – building on the success of the EU-Japan EPA. 

In mid-April, Fabio Crisafulli from Dassault Systèmes took part in a Public-Private Stakeholder Workshop organised by DG CNECT and Japan’s Digital Agency to feed ideas into the 2nd Japan-EU Digital Partnership Council. Mr. Crisafulli shared some of the BRT’s 2023 recommendations on digital innovation: the importance of EU-Japan policy coordination and engaging with stakeholders; that the EU and Japan should advance a global digital trade agenda; a need for harmonised cybersecurity standards; that the EU and Japanese Authorities should actively participate in the semiconductor value chain; and the need to foster digitalisation among SMEs. DIGITALEUROPE and JBCE (both BRT members) also spoke in the same session. 

On 30 April, the formal Joint Statement issued by the 2nd EU-Japan Digital Partnership Council recognised the BRT’s role – the EU and Japanese Authorities, “highlighted the importance of stronger stakeholder engagement including through the EU-Japan Business Round Table and dedicated initiatives of the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation.”

Mr. Chris Thomas, Representative Director & President, Merck Ltd., Japan, BRT member entity since April 2016

Mr. Fabio Crisafulli, Director, Dassault Systèmes K.K., BRT member entity since Feb. 2013