EBC Meeting Minutes

EOB Meeting Notes

Tuesday, September 18, 2007; EBC Office, 08:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m.

      

Attendees: R. Collasse, A. Murray, C. Mayali, D. Delgorge, A. Groff, C. Eilersen S. Cahill (for G. Keown), R. Scherpenhuijsen Rom, C. Thenevin (for M. Theoval) M. Loefflad
Regrets: J. Edberg, E. Ullner, P. Thewliss, H. Tempel, G. Zorn, M. Theoval, H. Porat,
G. Keown　

1. INTRODUCTION OF NEW STAFF MEMBER
The Executive Director introduced new staff member Clemence Mayali, who is working as Executive Policy Officer 4 days a week replacing both Kathy Harris and Sarah Mayo.

2. REPORT FROM THE CHAIRMAN

  1. On September 4, the EBC met with the Nippon Keidanren to discuss the Economic Integration
    Agreement (EIA). At the meeting, the Chairman clarified the position of the EBC regarding the contents and purpose of the EIA. He explained to Mr. Yonekura, Keidanren Vice-Chairman and Head of the Keidanren Mission to European Countries, that if tariffs were put first, the EU Commission would highly likely reject the proposal. He added that both Japan and the EU have tariff issues, but that the purpose of an EIA is not solely to address tariffs but to create a comprehensive agreement that includes mutual acceptance and/or harmonization of standards and regulations. Furthermore, the EBC Chairman stressed the importance of an EIA rather than an EPA or FTA. Initially the Japanese side, including Keidanren, was not supportive of the idea of an EIA, and instead had been calling for a tariff-based EPA or FTA. However, throughout the meeting Mr. Yonekura referred to the potential trade agreement as an EIA, which was regarded as an encouraging sign.
    The EBC chairman reminded the EOB that Working Party 1 of the BRDT has been tasked with preparing the industry set of recommendations or paper report for the June 2008 Summit. Thus far the position of the EU Commission has been that the WTO is the only way to negotiate between major trading blocks. However, the DOHA round is advancing slowly and is not proving to be successful and thus an economic integration agreement is becoming an attractive alternative. Automatic mutual recognition of product standards, for example, could be tremendously beneficial for several industries.

  2. On September 5, the EBC Secretariat attended the bimonthly Investment Group meeting with representatives of Japanese government offices. At the lunch, METI confirmed their intent to support and proactively promote a trade agreement for the EU and Japan. In pursuit of this goal, the METI has outsourced a large research study to the Nomura Institute, and JETRO has been asked to serve as the secretariat for the Japanese side.

  3. On September 6, the EBC attended a dinner meeting held by the Automobile Committee. The EBC Chairman reported that the discussion at the meeting was useful. Members of the Committee expressed their concern with the EIA and its potential to eliminate auto tariffs, but also explained that they understood the wider and far reaching benefits of the trade agreement.

  4. The decision to form an EU EIA Expert Committee to support the EIA Task force was taken at the Berlin BRDT in June. On September 14, the EU EIA Expert Committee being set up by the EBC held its first meeting to discuss the function of the EIA taskforce and generate a brainstorming session on the contents of the agreement.

  5. On September 14, following the EU EIA Expert Committee meeting, the EBC met with the Japanese EIA Expert Committee being set up by Toshiba and JETRO. The discussion focused on clarifying the terms and the process for creating and submitting the industry recommendations from Working Party 1 (a working process chart was prepared subsequent to the EOB meeting and is attached for your reference). It was agreed that the EBC and the JETRO/Toshiba group would meet once a month to share information on their activities.

  6. The EBC will hold its quarterly meeting with the EU Ambassador Richardson on September 20. The EBC Chairman will use the meeting as an opportunity to brief the Ambassador on the industry EIA momentum.

  7. The EBC Chairman has been invited by the Ambassador of Portugal to make a presentation at the monthly meeting of Ambassadors to be held on November 8. The presentation will provide an update on EBC activities, specifically the white paper, and the proposed EIA and aims to keep the Ambassadors well informed on the role and function of the EBC.

3. REPORT FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

  1. The Executive Director reminded the EOB that we will host a lunch on November 13 with Ambassador Richardson and the time of the EOB meeting will likely be changed to take place immediately before the lunch. EOB members will be notified when the location has been selected.

  2. The EBC Chairman reminded the EOB that he has called for an extraordinary meeting with chamber presidents on October 18. This meeting is of high importance and chamber presidents are urged to attend.

  3. The White Paper is currently in its final stages of production. The luncheon Launch for the Paper will be November 21. A formal announcement and invitation will be sent out early October. However, the budget for the White Paper is still below target and a reminder asking for additional sponsorships will be sent to members soon.

  4. Promotion results worldwide for the 2007 ETP Program were positive, but lower than last year. In Japan, 2 of 5 applicants were selected while in France, 5 out of 10 applicants were selected. The Executive Director mentioned that the selection process appeared to be too rigid. In response to this feedback, Eurochambers is discussing entry requirements for the program with the European Commission.

  5. On July 29, DHL, TNT, and Panalpina met to form a new committee - Logistics & Freight Committee. The committee will address regulatory barriers and outdated restrictions challenging foreign freight companies. Major issues are high costs and inadequate infrastructure at international airports and customs clearances procedures.

  6. On July 6, 7 and 17, the EBC arranged an extensive programme of meetings for the EUCOMED Secretary General and Senior Board Member. The programme included visits to the Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare (MHLW), the Japan Federation of Medical Device Associations (JFMDA), the Japan Medical Association (JMA), and the Pharmaceutical & Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) as well as to politicians and the Delegation of the European Commission to Japan. EUCO MED has agreed to join the EIA Taskforce and is keen on an agreement that establishes mutual acceptance of standards on medical devices.

  7. On August 9, the Executive Director met with Simon Adams, a representative of the British Computer Society (BCS) to discuss the possibility of the EBC hosting the Japanese secretariat of the BCS. The BCS administers a Chartered IT professional (CHIP) accreditation program. Japanese customers have expressed interest in this certification program, which is already quite extensive throughout Asia. They have not yet made a decision.

  8. On August 22, the EBC received a visit from Hiratsuka-san of the Japan Business Council of Europe (JBCE) to discuss the EIA. Thus far the JBCE has conducted research and outreach with Japanese businesses in Europe. The EBC Executive Director and Policy Director agreed to continue communications on activities regarding EIA.

  9. On August 23, the EBC also received a visit from two members of the Nomura Research Institute. Nomura Institute has been engaged by METI to conduct a research on the potential benefits of an EIA for Japan

  10. The Executive Director reported that the Osaka Chamber of Commerce has already followed up the May visit of the EOB to Osaka by expressing their intent to schedule a meeting for next year. Their feedback to the May meeting was very positive.

  11. Executive Director Alison Murray will make a speech for a seminar on "Women in Government" held by the British Chamber of Commerce at the EU Delegation on September 19.

4. REPORT FROM THE POLICY DIRECTOR
The Executive Director handed out summaries of committee activities on behalf of the Policy Director, who was in Brussels for European Wood business.

  1. Committee items

    Airlines: The committee is participating in the debate on the opening up of Haneda airport for international flights by 2010. The EBC has issued a press release, held a press conference and visited MLIT to discuss the issue. The media response has been positive including a special feature in Newsweek Japan on the Japanese airline industry.

    Asset Management: The committee submitted a proposal to the regulatory reform council on revision of the current reporting rules of more than 5% stock holding in public trading firms.

    Banking: The committee continues to take part in the debate on the revision of firewall restrictions separating securities and banking business. The committee has submitted public comments and participated in public hearings followed by visits to the FSA.

    Business Aviation: The committee submitted a proposal to the regulatory reform council on introduction of a regulatory framework for private jets separate from that of ordinary commercial flights. The council agreed to push the MLIT which has given a cautious positive first reply.

  2. Cross-cutting items
    The Executive Director mentioned that committees have been meeting less frequently. Duco Delgorge suggested that mandatory meeting requirements might be useful. The Executive Director confirmed that EBC committee rules stipulate that committees must meet at least 4 times a year. She further added that scheduling meetings has proven to be challenge for some committee leaders. It was also mentioned that the EOB Liaison programme is a good system that should be continued.

5. FUNDING MATTERS

  1. The Executive Director explained that the 2008 yearly stakeholder fees presented in a spreadsheet reflect the number of respective chamber members and their corresponding fees. The spreadsheet also provided a comparison of the funding with 2007 which indicates that membership in several chambers of commerce has decreased.

  2. Beyond stakeholder and committee membership fees, major sources of funding expected for 2008 are:

    1. Eurochambres contract (ETP): The EBC continues to coordinate recruitment for the ETP executive recruitment program.

    2. Eurochambres contract (Gateway): If Eurochambres is selected to act as the coordinator for the EU Gateway program, then a liaison office will be established in Japan. EBC will provide the office space and the personnel for the coordination of the program. This arrangement is expected to generate around an additional 5,000,000 in revenue for the EBC.

    3. European Wood: payment for office space and services.

    4. Eucomed: annual fee for arranging 3-4 visits per annum to Tokyo.

    5. Consulting: the EBC is continuing with the ad hoc consulting for trade lobbying activities that are outside the scope of already established committees.

    6. British Computer Society (BCS): The EBC is still awaiting a decision in regards to the proposal by BCS to establish operations in Japan. If the proposal is approved, the EBC will provide office space and personnel for BCS, which would bring in an additional 2,000,000 yen in revenue for the EBC.

    7. The ETPA is currently experiencing a lack of funding and for the time being it is unable to operate a secretariat for the program, hence the EBC no longer provides office space and services.

6. EOB LIAISON RESPONSIBILITIES
Some suggested changes were made to the EOB Committee Liaison list. As some members were not present, the suggested list is attached to these Meeting Minutes for confirmation. It was noted that an EOB member who is a Committee Chairmen should not liaise with his own committee due to the potential for a conflict of interest, as the function of the liaison is mainly to provide assistance to the EBC secretariat in the event that a crisis of some type occurs within the committee.

7. 4th DAIMLERCHRYSLER CUP REPORT:
No report (E. Ullner and H. Porat unavailable)

8. ANY OTHER BUSINESS