EU Studies in Japan
Online ISSN : 1884-2739
Print ISSN : 1884-3123
ISSN-L : 1884-3123
Volume 2008, Issue 28
Displaying 1-14 of 14 articles from this issue
  • An interpretative framework
    Stefano Bartolini
    2008 Volume 2008 Issue 28 Pages 1-26,307
    Published: April 01, 2008
    Released on J-STAGE: April 13, 2011
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    For a long time, European integration has only occasionally and intermittently affected domestic politics, and only in a few countries. The near future is likely to see the growing impact of this process on forms of political representation and patterns of competition, and on national political alignments, institutional developments and state structures. Whether integration progresses or instead is stopped or delayed, the debate over these issues and the tensions within each country associated with the differing attitudes of individuals, groups and territories are likely to produce significant political change. This paper provides an interpretative framework for the 50 years of integration seeing this development in the light of the historical formation of European nation states. The recent lowering of cross state functional boundaries and the territorial de-differentiation associated with this generates a decoupling of the formerly territorially overlapping principles of identity, solidarity and legitimised decision rules within the nation state. The paper highlights the potential tensions implicit in this new configuration.
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  • From Cooperation to Diplomacy
    Michael Reiterer
    2008 Volume 2008 Issue 28 Pages 27-44,309
    Published: April 01, 2008
    Released on J-STAGE: April 13, 2011
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    During the last fifty years when the EC turned into the EU, the foreign policy aspect constantly gained importance; in changing its structures and functions the EU added foreign policy tools and developed a foreign policy which is different from the foreign policy of a nation state: The goals are strongly influenced by the historic experience of the Union, focussing on conflict prevention and conflict solution, reconciliation, fostering of human rights and rights of minorities, sustainability and protection of the environment while upholding a free market economy based on the European social model.
    Pursuing effective multilateralism, fostering interregionalism as a new diplomatic tool, inventing the European Neighbourhood Policy as an alternative to accession are some key instruments. Thus, a European diplomacy should translate the goals of the Common Foreign and Security and European Security and Defence Policies into action.
    The Lisbon Treaty of 2007, if ratified, will streamline the foreign policy process in creating the new function of the double hated High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, supported by European Diplomatic Service, called European Action Service. Since the adoption of the European Security Strategy in 2003, the military component in the EU's foreign policy has become more important, as the artificial distinction between economics and politics was abandoned. Although the European Union acts as civilian or soft power e. g. it is able to influence many but not all actors by offering the huge advantage of membership in the Union, the need for a certain military capability in order to be able to pursue its goals, is gradually recognised. Although foreign policy will remain the prerogative of the nation state, which remains the constituent element of the EU, the Europeanisation of foreign policy goals and the need to pool sovereignty in order to contribute to solving problems or to overcome crisis gains slowly momentum. The EU perceived by many as a role model is also responding to the perceptions of the international community which expects a substantial contribution of the EU to the governance of the international system commensurate with its economic might.
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  • Mamiko Yokoi-Arai
    2008 Volume 2008 Issue 28 Pages 45-63,311
    Published: April 01, 2008
    Released on J-STAGE: April 13, 2011
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Financial integration of the EU is entering a new stage, with new proposals to bring forward the common financial market to strengthen its contribution to economic growth. The agreement of the Financial Services Action Plan in 1999 has been a large step in this direction, which in turn has led to the commencement of a new legislative approach. The new legislative approach was necessary to speed legislation in tandem with innovation in financial services. This Lamfalussy process introduced a holistic approach to the comitology method into financial services by ensuring transparency and accountability. This has enabled the completion of the legislative programme for securities regulations in time, and made possible the extension of the Lamfalussy process to banking and insurance.
    This article examines the path to the adoption of the Lamfalussy process and its subsequent evaluation. The discussions provide an important insight into the governance structure of the EU. Further, there are strong implications to the future of financial services regulation in the EU. The regulatory structure of financial services will also be considered in the context of global discourse on the matter.
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  • Retrospect and Prospect of the Economic Integration since the Treaty
    Soko TANAKA
    2008 Volume 2008 Issue 28 Pages 64-91,313
    Published: April 01, 2008
    Released on J-STAGE: April 13, 2011
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The European Union is today the most developed integration body in the world with the single market and the single currency. What effects did the Rome Treaty signed in 1957 have on this integration development?
    The Rome Treaty was based on free competition principles and oriented towards a common market. It had a structure with a systematic economic constitution. But, it was impossible to create a common market with four freedoms, since national independence was regarded as the most important objective in Western Europe. In the 1960's, the European Economic Community created only a customs union and an agricultural common market.
    When the European Community faced a true economic crisis in the 1980's, it could jump to the internal market integration, namely common market building. As the Rome Treaty was formulated along a common market building, the Treaty was easily reorganized with the simple Single European Act of 1986. Since the Rome Treaty included several clauses to abolish non-tariff barriers (NTBs), the EC could make preliminary practices in the 1970's and in the first half of the 1980's. As the Treaty was so systematic for abolitions of NTBs, the treaties after it could be formulated by adding new clauses to the Treaty or correcting old clauses. It made the development of the single market integration easier.
    After 50 years from the Rome Treaty, the EU economy looks very strong, even in comparison with the American economy. What are reasons? The present paper regards the three epoch-making economic integration after the 1980's as the most important: internal market building, monetary integration and the eastern enlargement, The three integrations revitalized the old European economy by a kind of creative destruction in the Schumpeterian sence. The western European companies and banks organized a pan-European production networks by marching into Eastern Europe, where they organized a production bases for the western European companies. There has been a reaction, which stimulated economic innovation in Western Europe and it made the whole European economy competitive in the world.
    In the 21st century, emerging market economies have been rising. They want their economies to be modernized, mechanized and equipped with better infrastructure. As the American economy was too developed towards service economy, the country cannot reply to the needs of the emerging economies. Europe can do, because it keeps its heavy and chemical industries strong. The present paper has a prospect that Europe will be able to compete in the world in the beginning of the 21st century.
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  • Hitoshi SUZUKI
    2008 Volume 2008 Issue 28 Pages 92-112,315
    Published: April 01, 2008
    Released on J-STAGE: April 13, 2011
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The EU celebrated its fiftieth anniversary of the Rome Treaties this year. This paper reviews the historical process of the negotiations for launching Euratom, using archives of the German government, trade unions, international trade union organisations and the European Communities What role has Euratom played in nuclear issues when the national governments enjoy full sovereignty both in military and civilian use of nuclear technology? This paper looks into the time period between 1950 and 1960, starting from the Pleven Plan proposal in October 1950 to the French acquisition of nuclear weapons in February 1960. Special focus is the idea of Euratom which Jean Monnet and the trade unions shared. It was to keep watch on nuclear armament of European countries, namely West Germany, through Euratom. This idea became the core of the lobbying activity of the Action Committee for the United States of Europe which Monnet launched in 1955. The Action Committee proposed the Europeanisation of nuclear plants of all Member States and also supranational inspection rights of Euratom. The idea was virtually killed by the Suez Crisis in 1956, causing an energy crisis in Europe and therefore making Monnet and the unions tone-down in the debate. The French nuclear armament put an end to this idea, though German nuclear armament was still prevented. The trade unions continued their watch on German rearmament by participating in government committees and economic planning boards on armament issues and nuclear issues.
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  • As a Case of Elite Perceptions of the EU in Japan
    Eijiro FUKUI
    2008 Volume 2008 Issue 28 Pages 113-131,317
    Published: April 01, 2008
    Released on J-STAGE: April 13, 2011
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    This paper focuses on EU perception studies and tries to clarify how non-Europeans perceive the EU. EU perception studies can contribute to the research agenda on EU identities from the outside European perspective. The author participated in the research project of “The EU through the Eyes of Asia”, which is the first research project of European Studies in Asia, studied the perceptions of the EU among Asian countries such as China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand using media analysis, public opinion survey and elite interview research. Also, the author researched the perceptions of the EU in Japan. This paper is based on the fruit of this project.
    The paper has two parts. The first part outlines the origin and the development of EU perception studies. NCRE (National Centre for Research on Europe, University of Canterbury, New Zealand) began the perception project in 2003 with the objective of clarifying how the EU is perceived in Asia-Pacific. NCRE has been the core research centre of EU perception studies since then. NCRE presented a multinational research framework on EU perceptions in Asia-Pacific from three perspectives; media, public opinion and elites. This paper focuses on the elite aspect component of EU perception studies and criticises the previous literature. The second part shows the elite perception of the EU in Japan as one case. First, the methodology of the elite interview research is introduced. Second, the result of Japanese elite interview research, which surveyed 38 Japanese elites between May and October in 2007, is presented. Here, it is clear that the majority of Japanese elite interviewees consider the EU as a great power, especially economically and diplomatically. This trend can be found in the results of China, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea.
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  • the Inclusion of Overseas Territories and its Consequences, 1955-1958
    Tomoya KURODA
    2008 Volume 2008 Issue 28 Pages 132-150,319
    Published: April 01, 2008
    Released on J-STAGE: April 13, 2011
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) was formalized with the Euratom Treaty, signed by six countries in March 1957; this, along with the establishment of the European Economic Community, is considered a watershed event in the European integration process.
    Thus far, existing studies on French diplomacy toward Euratom have not focused on the French position on the issue of bringing its overseas territories within the framework of Euratom. However, inclusion of overseas territories was a strategic matter, considering that Eurafrica was promoted by Gaston Defferre, the then Minister of Overseas France, and was later adopted by Guy Mollet, the then French Prime Minister. Euratom was conceived as a part of France's vision of Eurafrica, which aimed to struggle for ground in a bipolar world, based on Africa's abundant resources. With inputs from various archival sources, especially in France and Brussels, this article illustrates how Euratom, based on Eurafrica, evolved as well as how France took a decision between alternatives, including both civil and military programs. By doing this, the negative views of Euratom can be reconsidered.
    What were the consequences of Euratom for France? Militarily, Euratom was “ambiguous” because it neither assured exclusively peaceful use of atomic energy nor served any unique military purpose. Considering the pronuclear French stand, it is deducible that France was never keen on Euratom.
    However, from a strategic viewpoint, Euratom was important to France with regard to the overseas territories of Euratom's member states, and concurred well with the French response to the decolonization process. In the midst of the decolonization wave, the European integration process, relaunched after the Messina Conference in June 1955, was pursued by Defferre with the eventual goal of a Eurafrica, and aimed at a new mutually beneficial long-term relationship between the member states and their colonies. Further, when Euratom was signed, the member states' colonies were also integrated, albeit with some exceptions. This was seen as a step toward the creation of Eurafrica, which would serve as a means of response to the decolonization process. Moreover, Euratom also functioned as an insurance for the realization of Eurafrica for Mollet, as it came very close to concretizing into a Eurafrica after the Suez debacle; this was the case when the other French vision of Eurafrica, based on common market principles, was far from being realized due to member disagreements.
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  • possibilities and limitations
    Masami KODAMA
    2008 Volume 2008 Issue 28 Pages 151-174,321
    Published: April 01, 2008
    Released on J-STAGE: April 13, 2011
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    In the context of the development of the EU's policy towards the Korean Peninsula and North East Asia the aim of this article is to analyze and evaluate the EU's policy towards the North Korea. While there has been extensive scholarly work undertaken on the role and impact of the EU in an international context there have been few studies on the relations between the EU and the North Korea-the ‘world's last unreformed Stalinist state’.
    The paper will focus on the way the EU is handling relations with the North, especially in light of the North's ballistic and nuclear missile developments and the absence of human rights in the country. In so doing it will be divided into four sections. First, it will highlight the explanations of certain EU actors in charge of the external relations with the North. Here the thoughts of DG personnel in the European Commission and the Committee on Foreign Affairs/Commission des affaires étrangères (AFET) in the European Parliament will be drawn upon. It will also touch upon the formation of the delegation for relations with the Korean Peninsula (DKOR).
    Secondly, a short history of the relations between the two will be undertaken by paying attention to the Korean Energy Development Organization (KEDO) and the EU's rapid establishment of diplomatic relations with the North. The change of the political context between the two, due to the missile launches in July and the nuclear test in October 2006, will also be examined.
    Thirdly, the ways in which the European Parliament is dealing with the issues in light of recent deterioration in relations across the Korean Peninsula are also commented upon.
    Fourthly, EU's policy towards the human rights in the North is analyzed. This includes the attention paid to the issue of ‘slave labor’ of the North Korean workers in Europe that is directly related with the EU's emphasis on human rights as part of its own d'être. This issue is also connected with the problem as to whether the products of the Kaesong industrial complex should be included in the EU-ROK Free Trade Agreement, which is presently under negotiation.
    As a result of the analyses of the EU's approach to the North, four interrelated problems are identified as problematic:
    First, the delay associated with decision-making in the EU. Second the problem emanating from the EU's non-participation at the ‘Six-Way Party Talks’. Third is the continuing lack of a common policy towards the North. Finally the problem incurred by the policies connected with the so called ‘Sunshine Policy’ that originated with South Korean President Kim Dae Jung in 1998.
    In conclusion, it can be said that since the present policy of the EU is to support the ‘Sunshine Policy’, it is becoming increasingly incompatible with the ideas and stipulations laid out in the Treaty of the European Union-in particular the terrible human rights conditions in the North. It also leads to a gross under-estimation of the military threat of the North by aligning itself with a pro-north player who has come under fire for granting unconditional aid to the North.
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  • Yukio KONISHI, Sadayoshi TAKAYA
    2008 Volume 2008 Issue 28 Pages 175-199,323
    Published: April 01, 2008
    Released on J-STAGE: April 13, 2011
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    In this paper, we discuss economic effects of EU higher education policy from the view of EU governance. The higher education is also focused in “Lisbon Strategy”, to strengthen international competitiveness of EU economy.
    Though two perspectives, micro and macro ones, study education policy, we employ the macro perspective, which suggests human capital accumulated by education has externality to macro economy. By existence of the externality, intervention by EU to higher education is rationale.
    We estimate increase of graduation ratio of higher education brings about higher per capita real growth rate. The estimation method is pool-estimation for EU 12 member countries. The explanation variables are ratio of graduation of higher education, ratio of graduation of second education, ratio of graduation of first education, growth of openness of economy, and growth of employment.
    However, the current governance framework of EU, Open Method of Coordination, for further increases is limited because of fund constraint and introduction of common standard for higher education in EU member countries. We, therefore, suggest change of EU governance for higher education to Co-regulation framework in order to increase ratio of higher education. The framework will be also important for strengthening of international competitiveness.
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  • an analysis of continuity between the process of construction of EU and that of nation-state building, 1969-1973
    Ryoko YOSHINO
    2008 Volume 2008 Issue 28 Pages 200-220,325
    Published: April 01, 2008
    Released on J-STAGE: April 13, 2011
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The objective of my article is to discuss the following hypothesis that the construction of the EU is a political movement having the continuity with a process of nation-state building, analyzing the Statement of Paris in 1972 (Paris Summit) and the Declaration on European Identity in 1973 (Copenhagen Summit).
    For this objective, I give attention to the phrase of “the foundation of an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe” in the preamble to the Treaty of Roma. I primarily regard the European integration as the movement of integration of the peoples. Nationalism is a movement for nationstate building and has created its own national identity as a significant symbol for national integration in general. The European integration movement has also tried to create its own identity, a European Identity. It was also the time when the movement decided to progress from an economic community to a political union.
    In the Paris Summit in 1972, the European Union was first manifested as a political aim in the official document of EC. But, this starting point toward EU hasn't been substantially observed because the 1970s has been evaluated as a “stagnant period” or “dark age” (S. Hoffman). However, this absence of perspective for the integration movement of the 1970s caused the lack of analyses not only on the declaration on European Identity in 1973, but also on the fact that the Community and member states had forged European Identity as a symbol for European Union. At that time, the Community and the member-states faced the substantial changes in international society. For example the Nixon shock, the Oil crisis, the Cold War and the Detente, and the advance of globalisation. That is to say, they shared the common threats but on the other hand, they had internal problems and transformations; the failure of the Snake, the necessity of institutional reform, and “the convergence of value consciousness (R. Inglehart)” among the peoples.
    The Paris and Copenhagen Summits were held in the period of dynamic changes. And in these Summits, the keypersons, such as Tindemans and even Pompidou, had imaged the EU through the analogy with a nationstate. In addition, Member states added the limitation of “a common European civilization” to European Identity in Copehnhagen. Namely, in the process of construction of EU, one can observe the method that establishes the legitimacy of governance by making its own political identity. The 1970s, especially its first half, was never “dark age” of the European integration. The movement of the European integration in the 1970s as a whole had largely taken an important step forward the EU in the Maastricht Summit.
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  • Yasue FUKUDA
    2008 Volume 2008 Issue 28 Pages 221-241,327
    Published: April 01, 2008
    Released on J-STAGE: April 13, 2011
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The globalization of medical research and the application of biotechnology are presenting us with a wide range of economic and ethical issues. This paper will examine the controversies surrounding biomedical research policy and bio-ethics in the EU and its Member States with particular emphasis on the ethical raised by human embryonic stem-cell research from the viewpoint of “bio-politics”. It is essential to ensure that moral value as well as economic merits are reflected in public policy making.
    This paper focuses on bio-medical research, and analyzes many ethical issues involving human embryonic stem cell. And policy issues from a viewpoint of bio-politics technology by embryonic stem cell research an example also in the EU science and technology policies.
    It is necessary to also make moral value reflect in a public policy simultaneously with economic merit. Society does desire of the progress of medical and technology, and although it is common profits for civil society, various ethical problems exist in adaptation of the technology. Moreover, medical and technological research and the medical service itself are realized to be industries, and the economic earnings are pursued in many cases. However, since commercializing and dealing in human internal organs and ovum is greatly concerned also with the dignity of the economic discrepancy in domestic and international society, and a human being, international regulation of the suitable control to these tip life medical and technological development research policy and the EU level is demanded. Medical research must be evaluated not only from the financial side but from an ethics side about influence on the society. In order to perform a medical technical policy on the EU level, it is necessary to obtain an understanding of the European citizen's policy, and the transparency of a policy and reservation of accountability are indispensable. It is very useful to aim at adjustment of the sense of ethics in the EU level and policy harmonization in the Member States by Open Method of Co-ordination.
    The framework of carrying out control by social regulations to an advanced medical and technical policy by performing an ethical fixed value judgement can be said that the meaning which EU showed is very large.
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  • Yasuko ASANO
    2008 Volume 2008 Issue 28 Pages 242-266,329
    Published: April 01, 2008
    Released on J-STAGE: April 13, 2011
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The present paper analyses public service liberalisation in the EU from the perspective of ‘public service sector regimes.’ Processes of public service liberalisation have been explained on the one hand, from the perspective of transaction-based theory of integration in which supranational actors and institutions play a significant role. On the other hand, intergovernmentalist assumptions are also strongly supported. In light of these discussions, the purpose of this paper is twofold: to introduce the framework of public service sector regimes to this research field, and second, to assess the relevance of sector regimes to preference formation by member states, and to the relationship between member states and supranational organizations and rules. According to the two case studies covered in this article, namely the liberalisation of air transport and telecommunication services, the author finds that sector regimes can influence the preferences of member states to converge or to diverge, depending upon its scope (international or national), and shape the nature of relationships between member states and the Commission.
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  • Yasuhiro DOI
    2008 Volume 2008 Issue 28 Pages 267-284,331
    Published: April 01, 2008
    Released on J-STAGE: April 13, 2011
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    In this paper it is analyzed the effect of an Economic Integration to the economy of each country, especially it is focusing on the emerging income disparity through the enlargement of European Economic Integration to the Eastern Europe. Our particular interest is the effect of the following case that two different groups, which are the developed countries in Western Europe and the developing countries in Eastern Europe, have large economic disparities and they integrate their economy. The purpose of this paper is also to draw on political implications from this analysis.
    It is assumed that the convergence mechanism of income is affected through two factors, one is the price level and the other is the labor productivity. These two factors have different characters of convergence mechanisms. In fact, the price level converges faster than the labor productivity. We consider the relationship between income convergence mechanism and convergence mechanisms of these two factors and analyze the impact of an Economic Integration among economic differential countries.
    We found through our empirical analysis that the convergence mechanism of the labor productivity is correlated more to the income convergence than the mechanism of the price level. Because the mechanism of labor productivity converges very slow and is not affected directly by political methods, we conclude that the income disparity exists ongoing in the Economic Integration Area of Western and Eastern Europe.
    In the theory the economic policy should be controlled in a unified way among all member countries of an Economic Integration Area. But, if we follow our results in this paper, there are different characters of economy among member countries.
    In this sense, the unified way of economic policy can not fit situations of all member countries in Economic Integration Area, so that, our political implication is to set a wider range of discretionary administration for the groups, which is composed by countries with similar economic situations within the member countries of Economic Integration.
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  • Kunio IWAMATU
    2008 Volume 2008 Issue 28 Pages 285-306,333
    Published: April 01, 2008
    Released on J-STAGE: April 13, 2011
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Recently, reductions in CO2 emissions have become necessary around the world to avoid global warming. Biofuels are expected to become an alternative source of energy (mainly in automobiles) that will replace fossil fuels currently used for transportation. Biofuels possess the following benefits:
    1) Reductions in CO2 emissions
    Biofuels are made from crops, e. g. sugar cane, corn, and rape seed, etc. They consume CO2 while growing. From this point, the use of biofuels for automobiles does not emit CO2, due to the concept of “carbon neutrality.”
    2) Improving energy security
    The EU is heavily dependent upon fossil fuels, oil and natural gas, from Russia and the Middle East. If EU countries use biofuels, they can reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
    3) Developing agriculture
    It is sometimes difficult to increase the incomes of farmers involved in agriculture. Providing opportunities to produce biofuels can improve unstable financial situations for farmers.
    4) Creating employment and improving living standards
    Many regions suffer from low living standards due to insufficient industry. Opportunities to produce biofuels may create employment in these regions.
    In contrast, biofuels possess the following problems:
    a) Biofuels compete with agricultural products for foodstuffs.
    b) Biofuel production costs are higher than for fossil fuels, and CO2 reducing capabilities of many biofuels are not significantly high.
    c) Biofuels comprise only approximately 1-2% of the total amount of fuel used for transportation.
    d) Overcultivation of agricultural land and transitions from food to energy crops
    To solve the above problems, the following policies seem to be necessary:
    i) Development of next generation technology for a) above.
    Biofuel production from biomass is the next generation of technology. If this technology proves to be practical, it will not compete with food production.
    ii) Policy support (e. g. tax exemptions, subsidies) for b) and c) above.
    Currently, biofuel production costs are greater than those for gasoline and diesel, and the development of next generation technology is difficult for any one company to undertake.
    iii) Establishing trade rules for biofuels (e. g. material collection methods, transactions, trading, etc.) for d) above
    The lack of international rules may result in overcultivation in producing countries, such as those in south-east Asia.
    Biofuels are imperfect and possess problems, but they also have advantages that other fuels do not. Consequently, it is necessary to proceed with the expansion of biofuels, while considering each factor carefully and overcoming hurdles.
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