Japanese and EU leaders agreed in Tokyo Friday to speed up negotiations for the early conclusion of a free-trade pact by the end of the year, according to dpa. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, EU President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker reaffirmed "the importance of a highly comprehensive and ambitious" free-trade agreement to be concluded as soon as possible, the leaders said in a joint statement issued after the talks. The leaders said they had urged their negotiators "to settle the outstanding differences with a view to reaching agreement encompassing all the key issues preferably by the end of 2015."
