EU and Japan step up cooperation on 5G mobile technology

With the new 5G agreement, the EU will join forces with Japan to cope with the increasing need for wireless Internet and complement current efforts to create a Digital Single Market in Europe.
Günther H. Oettinger, European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society said: "5G will be
the backbone of our digital economies and societies worldwide. This is why we strongly support and seek a global consensus and cooperation on 5G. Our agreement with Japan is a milestone on the road to a global definition of 5G, its service characteristics and standards. It shows that our countries are ready to take leadership in building our digital future."

The agreement will allow EU and Japan to work towards a common understanding and standards of 5G, identify new harmonised radio band frequencies for 5G spectrum and cooperate on future 5G applications in areas like connected cars or e-health. Together, the partners will also invest €12 million during the next two years in 5G-related projects to help develop the Internet of Things,Cloudor Big Data platforms.

In parallel, the EU and Japan have also agreed to deepen their cooperation on Research and Innovation (R&I), based on a joint vision endorsed today.
Carlos Moedas, Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, said: "Europe and Japan must tackle many of the same challenges such as energy security, ageing populations or access to critical materials. So it's only natural that we also work together closely to find solutions to these challenges. The joint vision endorsed today will take our cooperation to the next level."

The agreement will build on the strong research ties in areas like ICT and aeronautics and strengthen collaborations in health and medical research, environment, energy and physics. The partners will also set up a joint funding mechanism that will make it easier to finance common R&I projects and collaborate more closely on policy aspects, like Open Science. In addition, an agreement to stimulate scientific exchanges has also been signed between the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) and the European Research Council (ERC).