EBC Meeting Minutes

EOB Meeting Notes

February 24, 2004, EBC Office

8/30-10-30 a.m.

      

In attendance:

R. Collasse (EBC Chairman)
A. Murray (EBC Executive Director)
L. Drevet (for M. Lachaussee, France)
R. Mason (UK)
M. Fasce (Italy) (New EOB member)
E. Ullner (Finland)
G. Schlosser (Germany)
M. Otter (Austria)
D. Delgorge (Belgium/Lux.)
A. Zimmerman (Switzerland)
H. Porat (Sweden)
C. Sedgman (EBC Policy Director)

Apologies:

P. Elbers (Netherlands)
M. Lachausee (represented by L. Drevet)
T. Henriksen (Denmark)

1. Report from the Chairman:

R. Collasse reported on the following activities:

  1. Meeting with Prime Minister, December 22 2003 - "Cabiネット" article distributed separately and is posted on the EBC website

  2. Presentation in Ireland to Irish Government and business community in January at request of A. Balfe

  3. Roundtable with top officials from Keidanren on the topics of EU enlargement, EBC and FDI in Japan - February 4 - will become basis of article in Keidanren newsletter

  4. Presentation to EU Commercial Counsellors on recent developments with the EBC constitution - February 17

  5. Presentation on EBC at CCIFJ general assembly - February 19

  6. Meeting with Ambassador Zepter scheduled for February 24 to discuss EBC government doorknock, Roundtable and Nikkei seminar

  7. Next Government Investment Lunch Group scheduled for March 24

  8. Lunch with D. Howard/ACCJ President scheduled for March 29

  9. Government "Doorknock" in planning stages for April/May. Organization being taken care of by EC Delegation. Participation to be limited to EU Ambassador, R. Collasse,and chairmen of relevant committees

2. Report from the Executive Director:

A. Murray reported on the following activities/recent happenings:

  1. Chamber subsidy payments - ICCJ situation: ICCJ will not have adequate funds until reimbursed for 2003 activities by Italian government - expected in October. Sanpolo Bank will advance the ICCJ's 1st and 2nd quarter payments to the EBC at the end of May

  2. Current state of EBC funds - request re payments of chamber 2nd-term subsidies and committee membership fee payments: Higher costs this year due to fulltime employment of C. Sedgman. The extra funds will derive from the raised committee membership fee, which is not expected until late March and thereafter. Therefore, EBC faces a cashflow problem. Chambers are requested to pay the committee membership fees and chamber subsidies on time. In particular, payment of the 2nd-term chamber subsidy as early as possible would be appreciated.

  3. Status of committee membership invoicing process: Chamber-based member lists were checked by the chambers last week for dropouts. Several were identified and will be asked to rejoin their chamber or pay 400,000 yen or drop out of the committee, the last of which is the most likely end result. Invoices have now been sent to the chambers

  4. Request regarding invoicing from the DIHKJ (letter provided separately): The DIHKJ requested the EBC to invoice DIHJK members directly for their committee membership fee. This is already been implemented and should ease the cashflow problem.

  5. Membership drop-outs and chamber drop-outs: Report provided separately.

  6. Predicted income from committee memberships in 2004: Summary distributed separately. Less income from the membership fee rise than expected due to considerable reduction in memberships (fewer multiple committee memberships)

  7. Chartered Institute of Arbitrators - Training Course - EBC non-financial sponsorship: Recommended by M. Hancock (EBC Legal Services Committee Chairman)

  8. Economist Conferences January Healthcare Roundtable: Asahi Siemens "won" the free entry

  9. Osaka City Government visit - February 12: Will visit a property developers exhibition in Paris and wants a heads-up on EU companies with potential interest in a development project in Osaka.

  10. Europe Day - Japan Times visit February 17:

  11. Visit from Charge d'Affaires of Estonian Embassy and Director of Enterprise Estonia February 23: Estonia has submitted a request to participate in the EBC Council as observer. The EOB recommends to the Council that Estonia be allowed to sit on the Council as an observer, but that they be required to pay a nominal "observer" fee of 80,000 from the second year on, to be reviewed on an annual basis. Goal is to have such organizations to eventually pay a fee equivalent to lowest stakeholder subsidy (ie. 300,000 yen).

  12. JETRO/Invest Japan visit re Miyazaki promotion tour - February 27: Material to be distributed to members by e-mail.

  13. EBC meeting with 15 visiting EU journalists for METI/IIST - March 2nd: METI and its offshoot, the Institute for International Study & Training, are organizing a 5-day program for a group of leading EU journalists. A panel of EBC experts will meet with them (roundtable style) and give short presentations on their respective company experiences in Japan - hoping to prompt more encouraging articles about Japan in the European media.

  14. Presentation by A. Murray for Japan Economic Research Institute (JERI) & Development Bank of Japan - March 5: On the EBC's recommendations for promoting FDI. Focus on regulatory reform. Audience to 35 to consist of MOFA, JERI and prefectural government officials.

3. Funding and fund-raising

  1. Statement of Cash balances and of cash receipts and disbursements - 2003: Provided separately.

  2. Projected income from chamber subsidies and committee membership fees: Provided separately.

  3. New potential fund-raising opportunities

    1. European Wood Initiative: Letter from J. Edberg explaining the desire of the European Wood Initiative to rent EBC office space provided separately. EOB recommends that EBC offer space to the European Wood Initiative at terms being negotiated.

    2. MCE training programs: Letter from W. Lux of the American Management Association on proposal to provide EBC related companies with training seminars in return for a cut of the take provided separately. EOB recommends that A. Murray solicits more information from Lux/AMA before proceeding further.

4. EBC Committee Items

  1. Report on Committee News provided separately.

  2. EOB Committee Liaison changes provided separately.

  3. Membership drive: National chambers are kindly asked to cooperate with Mr. D. Delgorge, Chair of the Food Committee to increase the number of members in the EBC Food Committee. Chambers will be contacted separately on this matter.

  4. M. Hancock thanked the EBC and the EC Delegation for their respective efforts towards achieving regulatory reform in the legal sector.

5. Cross-sector policy items

  1. Report on cross-sector policy items provided separately. EOB members are asked to provide comment (if any) on letter being prepared to send to PM related to revisions to the Anti-Monopoly Act

6. Organizational items

  1. Chamber responses to draft revision of the EBC constitution and next step provided separately. These will be discussed at the Council meeting , reviewed by the taskforce and a revised draft of the constitution prepared.

  2. Formal membership criteria for new EU member states: see above.

7. DaimlerChrysler Cup Report

  1. Year 2004 planning report from Erik Ullner: Date has been set for Oct. 1st. Planning committee (Erik Ullner, Clas Bystedt) currently soliciting sponsors for event, please log on to http://www.fcc.or.jp/dcc/index.html
    This site can also be accessed from the EBC homepage.

8. Any other business

  1. EUJBDRT 2004: Dates of the EUJBDRT for 2004 have been set for the following: RT on Sunday June 20 and the morning of Monday June 21, Nikkei Seminar (proposed) on afternoon of June 21, EU Japan Summit June 22.

  2. Richard Mason has been asked by MOFA to make a presentation in Kyoto on FDI on March 17.