Santer, Blair discuss Asia crisis in Tokyo

The Asian economic crisis is also being discussed at high-level talks in Tokyo.

The Japanese Prime Minister, Ryutaro Hashimoto, is seeing a European Union delegation led by the European Commission President, Jacques Santer, and Tony Blair - the Prime Minister of Britain, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency.

The BBC European Union correspondent says the Asian crisis is viewed with increasing concern in Brussels, since currency devaluations in the Far East mean cheaper imports to Europe and a greater strain on European manufacturers.

Our correspondent says the EU is pushing for greater deregulation in the Japanese market to allow European companies to trade effectively there.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service