European Union and Japan are aiming at an agreement on a free trade to be concluded within months, after senior officials removed final obstacles to a political deal.

“We ironed out the few remaining differences,” European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said after a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida.

The EU-Japan summit will take place on 6 July in Brussels. At the summit, leaders are expected to announce a political agreement on the EU-Japan free trade agreement and the EU-Japan strategic partnership agreement.