EU-Japan Trade Agreement on Track to Enter Into Force in February 2019

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Concerning data protection, the EU and Japan concluded on 17 July the negotiations on reciprocal adequacy, which will complement the Economic Partnership Agreement. The objective is to recognise each other's data protection systems as 'equivalent', which will allow data to flow safely between the EU and Japan, creating the world's largest area of safe data flows.

A Strategic Partnership Agreement to Work Even More Closely

Japan and the EU share a strong commitment to democracy, the protection of human rights, free and open trade, multilateralism and a rules-based order. Japan is a long-standing Strategic Partner for the EU and an important ally on the international scene.

The Strategic Partnership Agreement will lead to further deepening of EU-Japan relations, strengthened foreign and security policy dialogue, and engagement across a wide range of global, regional and bilateral thematic issues. The Agreement re-affirms the shared values and common principles that form the basis of the EU-Japan partnership, including human rights, democracy, multilateralism and the rule of law.

"Japan is a country with which we already work very closely. Following today's votes, our partnership will become even stronger. Japan is a key partner for the EU in multilateral fora. Our new agreement will help us cooperate even more closely in many areas and increase people-to-people contacts, for the sake of both EU and Japanese citizens", said High Representative Federica Mogherini.

The Strategic Partnership Agreement will boost dialogue and cooperation between the European Union and Japan on topics of mutual interest such as foreign and security policy, connectivity, climate change, environment, energy, cyber issues, employment and social affairs, as well as people-to-people exchanges.

Timeline of the Agreements and Next Steps 

Negotiations for the Strategic Partnership Agreement and the Economic Partnership Agreement started in 2013, and both agreements were signed at the EU-Japan Summit on 17 July 2018.

On 29 November and on 8 December the two houses of Japan's National Diet ratified the Economic Partnership Agreement. The European Parliament's consent expressed today clears the way for the trade agreement's conclusion and entry into force. The remaining formalities are expected to be done in time for the agreement to become effective as soon as 1 February 2019.

The entry into force of the Strategic Partnership Agreement requires also the ratification by EU Member States, but a large part of the Agreement can be applied on a provisional basis already in early 2019.

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