Minister-Counselor Stefan A. Huber, Deputy Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to Japan, visited Kobe on June 10 to deliver a lecture on "The Euro-10 Years from Introduction" at the seminar hosted by the Hyogo EU Association and supported by the EU Institute in Japan, Kansai.

Prior to the seminar, the Minister-Counselor paid a courtesy visited on President FUKUDA Hideki and Vice President NAKAMURA Chiharu. The Minister-Counselor told the Kobe University members that the EU is placing strong focus on people-to-people exchange in its effort to build a lasting relationship with Japan, especially in its effort to strengthen interactions between students, who will undoubtedly lead the future generation. Speaking on behalf of Kobe University, President FUKUDA and Vice President NAKAMURA stated that Kobe University is willing to further strengthen international exchanges and is also willing to activate EU-Japan interactions in broader academic fields.

In the succeeding seminar on the Euro, the Minister-Counselor explained the background principle of their currency integration to the Euro. It was an instrument to evolve international relations in Europe. The foundation of EU is based on the idea to build a society operated under mutually agreed upon rules. In the dialogue with the audience, he also stressed that the cooperation between Japan and the EU will bring significant contribution to the evolution of international society.