EBC Newsletter – May 26, 2021

In this week’s Newsletter, we are glad to introduce you:

• The EBC Logistics & Freight Committee, which current advocacy issues are digitalization, labour shortage and delivery;
• A webinar organised on 15 June by our European Business Organization Worldwide Network colleague, the EuroCham Singapore on COVID-19 Vaccination – Facts and Fiction. A variety of stakeholders will discuss the issues related to COVID-19 vaccination and provide clarity of facts to combat inaccurate information or misperceptions in the public domain.
• An online arbitration event on the theme of “Japan as a Destination for Arbitration” organised by Japan Commercial Arbitration Association, in collaboration with JIDRC and the Japan Ministry of Justice on 31 May.

We hope you stay positive and healthy during this difficult time.

Valerie Moschetti
EBC Chief Operating Officer

• COVID-19 Vaccination – Facts and Fiction – EuroCham Singapore (15 June)Singapore is in the process of rolling out the vaccination program, which started with frontline healthcare professionals and has now moved onto senior citizens. During the course of this programme, it is expected to cover the majority of the population living in Singapore.

  Many people will be considering whether the vaccination is suitable for them or not. Singapore, in some ways, could also be a victim of its success in managing the pandemic, which may lead some residents to think that they may not need to get the vaccine as community infections are negligible.

  In this context and the exceedingly polarised global debate around vaccines in general and COVID-19 vaccination in particular, there is a real risk that people may be making vaccination decisions based on incorrect, insufficient or irrelevant information.

  To combat this and to support the Ministry of Health Singapore in its vaccination drive, the EuroCham Healthcare committee in partnership with Fresenius Medical Care are proud to bring together a variety of stakeholders to discuss the issues related to COVID-19 vaccination and provide clarity of facts to combat inaccurate information or misperceptions in the public domain.

• Japan as a Destination for Arbitration – Japan Commercial Arbitration Association (31 May)This webinar aims to introduce to lawyers, in-house counsel and others the appeal of Japan as a place of arbitration for the resolution of international commercial disputes, including such involving non-Japanese corporations.
  This webinar is intended for foreign companies and Japanese subsidiaries located or actively doing business in Singapore and other South-East Asian countries.

This year’s White Paper is called “Strengthening partnerships – in crisis and opportunity alike” . The opportunity is of course referring to the EU-Japan EPA that entered into force on February 1, 2019. Unfortunately, at the same time the COVID -19 crisis struck the world.

We are, however, confident that with our recommendations, the European and Japanese economies and companies will continue to prosper.