The European Union and Japan should cooperate in developing such advanced scientific technologies as fuel cells, the research commissioner of the European Commission said Monday in Tokyo.

Philippe Busquin, commissioner for research of the European Commission, said he hopes the EU and Japan will sign a bilateral agreement for collaboration in developing fuel cell technology, which is expected to be in high demand with the popularization of hydrogen-fueled vehicles.

The two sides should jointly work to clear such hurdles as cutting costs for vehicle production and establishing international standards for such cars, he said.

Busquin is currently in Japan to attend the G8 Carnegie Group Conference, in which ministers in charge of science and research from the Group of Eight major countries meet informally to exchange opinions.

In addition to fuel cells, the research commissioner said Japan and the EU need to collaborate in developing nuclear fusion technologies.

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project, which uses nuclear fusion technology, has been jointly promoted by Russia, Canada, the EU, Japan, China, South Korea and the United States. Attention is focused on where the experimental reactor will be built. Both Japan and France have offered candidate sites, and Busquin said a final decision is to be made during an intergovernmental meeting Dec. 20 in Washington.

Noting that Japan invests more than 3 percent of its gross domestic product in research and development projects, Busquin said the EU wants to achieve a similar level by 2010. Currently, EU member states on average spend about 2 percent of GDP on their national research and development budgets.