Japan and the European Union need to expand cooperation on multiple fronts, including security, energy and technological innovations, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said at a recent seminar in Tokyo.
"The EU and Japan are in many ways natural strategic partners. . . . Yet, the nagging feeling remains that we are not doing enough and that our political relationship has not kept pace with the developments," Barroso said at the April 21 event held at the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He was visiting Japan for a three-way summit with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel of Austria, the current EU president.
Barroso, a former prime minister of Portugal who has headed the commission since 2004, was speaking on the theme, "The EU and Japan: a mature relationship with untapped potential." The seminar was jointly organized by Keizai Koho Center and the European Union Delegation of the European Commission to Japan.