The 12th Japan-EU Summit Meeting

Friday, May 2, 2003

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Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi arrived in Greece, the final country of his visit to European countries, on May 1, and attended on the following morning the 12th Japan-European Union (EU) Summit in the city of Athens with the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic, Costas Simitis, current holder of the EU presidency, and the President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi. At the summit, in regard to the postwar reconstruction of Iraq, the leaders agreed that they will aim to rebuild the UN-centered system of coordination. On the issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the parties strongly demanded that the DPRK promptly eliminate its nuclear weapons program in a visible, irreversible and verifiable manner, and shared the view that the Japan-DPRK Pyongyang Declaration is crucial to open the way to normalizing bilateral relations through resolving concerns between Japan and the DPRK, including the abductions issue. On economic issues, furthermore, the sides confirmed that they would cooperate to expand two-way investment between Japan and the EU, adopting the Japan-EU Initiatives on Investment which incorporates specific measures to achieve this end. After the summit, Prime Minister Koizumi and the EU leaders held a press conference where they made a joint press statement outlining the results of the 12th Japan-EU Summit. Prime Minister Koizumi then visited the Prime Minister's Office of the Hellenic Republic, where he held talks with Prime Minister Simitis, and paid a courtesy visit on President Constantinos Stephanopoulos at the President's Office in the afternoon. Prime Minister Koizumi left for Japan that evening.

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