Headline
2017/5/18
Ambassador Kodama's participation in a Brexit-related seminar hosted by FIDAL
Ambassador Kodama took part in a Brexit-related seminar in Paris on 18 May. The outline of the workshop is as follows.
1 About the seminar:
(1)The seminar was from 9:00-12:00 on 18 May at the Académie diplomatique internationale in Paris. There were approximately 100 participants.
(2)The title of the seminar was “Brexit: what are the consequences for your company?” Participants appeared to be from the business and law-related fields. The main objective of the seminar was to provide a forum for discussion and to explain the potential effects of Brexit on business. The latest information about Brexit was presented during the seminar with the caveat that these effects could depend on the end results of the negotiations
(3)The seminar was hosted by reputedly the biggest law firm in France, FIDAL. It employs more than 1400 lawyers and is known as one of the biggest law firms in Europe with a wide network around the world.
2 Programme of the seminar
1st session: Brexit, Europe and international trade: different perspectives.
2nd session: Brexit and EU law: where are we going?
3rd session: Impact of Brexit on regulation of the financial sector
4th session: What are the practical implications for businesses?
3 Outline of the panel discussion, featuring Ambassador Kodama
(1)The ambassador participated in the panel discussion which initiated the seminar. Therefore, the discussion was expected to broadly cover international trade prior to the later sessions which would cover law and practical discussions. In particular, Ambassador Kodama was expected to provide information on the meaning and impacts of Brexit from the perspective of non-EU member states.
(2)Mr. Pascal Lamy (former Director General at the WTO, former European Commissioner for trade) and H.E. Mr. Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut (Ambassador of Germany to France) kicked off the panel discussion. Mr. Lamy pointed out that the Brexit negotiation is going to be completely different from previous negotiations of free trade agreements. This is because in the negotiation of other FTAs, two parties typically aim to come to an agreement on harmonization of standards which is usually more than a win-win situation for both parties. However, the Brexit negotiations will be the complete opposite of this and hence there is a risk that the negotiations will be difficult and time-consuming.
H.E. Mr. Meyer-Landrut, talked about how Germany’s position on Brexit is probably expected as it reflects the announcements Germany had been making in the past. Ambassador Meyer-Landrut also stated that the EU27 member states are firmly united and that the position of the EU is as shown in the negotiation guidelines and directives. Ambassador Meyer-Landrut also stated confidently that the EU is never going to compromise easily in the negotiations.
(3)Ambassador Kodama gave his presentation using the attached slides. In the introduction, the ambassador used a cartoon which satirized Brexit and the EU’s future. The ambassador explained that when we look calmly at the impact of Brexit on trade between the EU and the UK, it is expected that there will be a negative effect on the UK. On the other hand, the impact on the EU27 will be relatively small. On this basis, the ambassador talked about the meaning of Brexit for the UK and EU27, as well as for Japan as a non-EU member state, by using related statistics.
After the seminar, the host mentioned that the statistics and views of the Japanese government and Japanese companies, presented by Ambassador Kodama, are very new and stimulating for audiences in Paris.
1 About the seminar:
(1)The seminar was from 9:00-12:00 on 18 May at the Académie diplomatique internationale in Paris. There were approximately 100 participants.
(2)The title of the seminar was “Brexit: what are the consequences for your company?” Participants appeared to be from the business and law-related fields. The main objective of the seminar was to provide a forum for discussion and to explain the potential effects of Brexit on business. The latest information about Brexit was presented during the seminar with the caveat that these effects could depend on the end results of the negotiations
(3)The seminar was hosted by reputedly the biggest law firm in France, FIDAL. It employs more than 1400 lawyers and is known as one of the biggest law firms in Europe with a wide network around the world.
2 Programme of the seminar
1st session: Brexit, Europe and international trade: different perspectives.
2nd session: Brexit and EU law: where are we going?
3rd session: Impact of Brexit on regulation of the financial sector
4th session: What are the practical implications for businesses?
3 Outline of the panel discussion, featuring Ambassador Kodama
(1)The ambassador participated in the panel discussion which initiated the seminar. Therefore, the discussion was expected to broadly cover international trade prior to the later sessions which would cover law and practical discussions. In particular, Ambassador Kodama was expected to provide information on the meaning and impacts of Brexit from the perspective of non-EU member states.
(2)Mr. Pascal Lamy (former Director General at the WTO, former European Commissioner for trade) and H.E. Mr. Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut (Ambassador of Germany to France) kicked off the panel discussion. Mr. Lamy pointed out that the Brexit negotiation is going to be completely different from previous negotiations of free trade agreements. This is because in the negotiation of other FTAs, two parties typically aim to come to an agreement on harmonization of standards which is usually more than a win-win situation for both parties. However, the Brexit negotiations will be the complete opposite of this and hence there is a risk that the negotiations will be difficult and time-consuming.
H.E. Mr. Meyer-Landrut, talked about how Germany’s position on Brexit is probably expected as it reflects the announcements Germany had been making in the past. Ambassador Meyer-Landrut also stated that the EU27 member states are firmly united and that the position of the EU is as shown in the negotiation guidelines and directives. Ambassador Meyer-Landrut also stated confidently that the EU is never going to compromise easily in the negotiations.
(3)Ambassador Kodama gave his presentation using the attached slides. In the introduction, the ambassador used a cartoon which satirized Brexit and the EU’s future. The ambassador explained that when we look calmly at the impact of Brexit on trade between the EU and the UK, it is expected that there will be a negative effect on the UK. On the other hand, the impact on the EU27 will be relatively small. On this basis, the ambassador talked about the meaning of Brexit for the UK and EU27, as well as for Japan as a non-EU member state, by using related statistics.
After the seminar, the host mentioned that the statistics and views of the Japanese government and Japanese companies, presented by Ambassador Kodama, are very new and stimulating for audiences in Paris.