ABSTRACT
The period 1996–2000 was a relatively quiescent time in EU–Japan relations marked by consolidation and slow, but positive, evolution in bilateral ties along the principal lines set out in the Communication from the Commission to the Council, Europe and Japan: The Next Steps, of March 1995 (political relations, economic and trade relations and cooperation). Summits were held annually – in Tokyo in September 1996, The Hague in June 1997, Tokyo in January 1998, Bonn in June 1999 and Tokyo in July 2000. On the economic and cooperation side members of the European Commission met regularly with their Japanese counterparts at the EU–Japan Ministerial Meetings 1 as well as in regular bilateral visits to Japan. 2 Annual High-Level Meetings on Regulatory Reform were held each year. 3 On the political side annual ministerial Troika meetings were held usually in the margins of the UN General Assembly.
