EBC Extraordinary Council meeting Minutes

October 29, 2003, Europa House

Opening

Richard Collasse, Chairman of the EBC, opened the extraordinary Council meeting with the taskforce work presentation.
It was also mentioned that a comprehensive PowerPoint presentation version is available in a CD-Rom handed out to each participant.

Meeting Agenda

Please refer to the above-mentioned CD-Rom for the full version of the presentation. Here are key points addressed during the meeting:

1. Activities of the EBC

• The EBC represents a common European business view on trade policy and market access issues,

• 26 committees and 350 active members,

• Direct lobbying with GoJ, EU, and Japanese Industrial circles. Lobbying with the Diet is to be initiated.

2. New constitution of the EBC

• The current constitution was last revised in March 2000,

• Revision process by the Taskforce started in October 2002,

• Objectives of the new Constitution: better "frame" the EBC,

• Name issue:

  • Keep "EBC" brand name that should be read as "European Business Council",
    The "Council" should be renamed the "Board of Governors",

• Create new positions:

  • 3 committee chairmen representatives,
    2 Vice Chairmen (1 from EOB and 1 from the 3 committee chairmen reps),
    1 treasurer.

3. Status of the EBC

Now: no legal status in Japan so far.
Need to register with the Meti under the "Chamber of Commerce" legal entity but keep the EBC brand name.

4. Performance of the EBC

5. Ideal organization of the Executive Office

6. Financing / budget for 2004 and proposal

Proposal to increase membership fees from JPY 50,000 to JPY 80,000 for the first committee membership. For second or subsequent committee membership, the fee would remain at JPY 50,000.
Decision to be taken on Nov 26 during the Council meeting.
Suggestion for the vote: a letter will be sent to define the "rules of the game" regarding this vote (i.e. members' presence or proxy)

7. New member States

New member States are eager to join the EBC, even (especially) those who do not have a national representation in Japan.
Constitution draft review process:

Please refer to action plan below.

Discussions arising after the presentation:

It was agreed that comments on the proposal should be made as soon as possible. Additionally, given changes (Board and/or Executives) occurring in National Chambers in early 2004, it is crucial to maintain deadlines so as to build on the existing momentum. However, the schedule was modified slightly from the outline in the presentation as indicated in the table below, as it was mentioned that time may be an issue so as to address and discuss the working document adequately and propose amendments.

Question regarding legal registration under the name of a European "Chamber of Commerce":
The task force, representing the Council, has worked on that issue. The Japanese government and main Japanese economic and industrial organizations recognize the EBC as representing European economic interests in Japan.

A distinction is to be made between National Chambers, which provide services to companies and the EBC whose purpose is to define a common trading policy.
Regarding the name issue, the METI may require the EBC be called Chamber of Commerce anyway after legal registration, but the impression is that a generic name that differs from the registration name will be acceptable.

The French and German Chamber presidents would like to present a joint initiative after reading through the taskforce proposal so as to further upgrade the EBC.

The ABC executive director (Austrian Trade Commissioner) pointed to the China EU CCJ as a potential model and suggested having a rotating Chairmanship (6-month term) based on the EU model with the Chairman of a national Chamber serving as the Chairman of the EBC for 6 months. Having a strong executive direction for daily work is also suggested.

One issue is that Japanese government bodies and organizations rely on long-term relationships with the Chairman.

Moreover, such an organization would require much more funding to finance the new Executive body.
In addition the EU model is undergoing a review.

Remark that the EBC represents only 10% of European interests
The EBC represents the vast majority of European interests since all national companies are registered under national Chambers and the EBC represents the national Chambers, but only about 10% of European interests in Japan actually participate in the EBC's activities because the others are not interested in trade policy. However, the EBC is regarded as representing all interests because it represents the chambers. The EBC is perceived as a federated, reliable European voice for trade and economic-related topics.

Conclusion:

The EBC is a powerful tool that does work. The fact that the highest ranking Japanese Government member, Prime Minister Mr. Koizumi, recently asked for the EBC standpoint on Europe-Japan trade policy topics, illustrates the importance and visibility of the EBC.

Action Plan and key dates (modified slightly from CD-Rom presentation):

ACTION	DEADLINE
Decision on membership fees increase	November 26
All national Chambers' Boards review the constitution working document	ASAP
All national Chambers' Boards submit comments and amendments proposals to the taskforce	January 16th, 2004
The taskforce collect comments and amendments and update the draft and circulate it to the Council	February 6th, 2004
Council meeting to review final draft document	February 2004
Final vote by the Council on the new Constitution	End of March 2004 (tbd)