Japan and the European Union have reached a broad deal on an Economic Partnership Agreement that would affect about 30 percent of the world's gross domestic product. <br/><br/>Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker announced the deal in Brussels on Thursday. They confirmed that the two sides settled important issues after four years of negotiations. <br/><br/>The EP Agreement is the first of its kind among large, advanced economies, and would be one of Japan's biggest trade deals. <br/><br/>Japan's Prime Minister Abe is attending the G-20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, starting on Friday. He is expected to stress the importance of free trade for sustainable growth of world economies.