Abe expected to agree EU-Japan trade deal on Thursday - EU

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union expects a political agreement with Japan on Thursday to seal a free trade pact when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits Brussels, the European Council said on Tuesday.

Confirming an EU-Japan summit, which had been tentatively planned but which EU officials have said would only go ahead if a deal was certain to be agreed, the Council said in a statement that Abe would meet Council President Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the executive European Commission.

"At the summit, leaders are expected to announce a political agreement on the EU-Japan free trade agreement and the EU-Japan strategic partnership agreement," it said.

 

An accord would come on the eve of a G20 summit in Germany where European and Japanese leaders are likely to urge President Donald Trump not to weaken the U.S. commitment to free trade.

(Reporting by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Sam Holmes)