Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and European Union leaders have agreed to expedite negotiations for a free trade deal and reach a broad accord by the end of the year, Kyodo news agency quoted Japanese officials as saying.

Abe shared the view in a meeting Tuesday with Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, and Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, the executive branch of the 28-member bloc, they said.

Tusk was quoted as saying a free trade agreement should be reached during the annual Japan-EU summit in the latter half of the year.