TAIWAN / BELGIUM – The foreign affairs committee of the European parliament on September 1, passed the “EU-Taiwan Political Relations and Cooperation” (EU-Taiwan Political Relations and Cooperation) report and relevant amendments, as announced in press release No. 159, September 02, 2021, stating “with the strong support of the European parliament, we are reaching a new milestone.”
The ministry of foreign affairs (MOFA) expressed its high welcome and gratitude to the European parliament for the first time on the initiative to further deepen the friendly relations between Taiwan and the European Union.
EU-Taiwan political relations and cooperation
The report pointed out that the European parliament is concerned about China’s military threats to Taiwan and urges China to stop any activities that destabilize the Taiwan Strait and insist that any changes in cross-strait relations must not go against the wishes of the people of Taiwan and also calls on the EU to actively cooperate with the international community to safeguard the Taiwan Strait.
The report added that Peace and stability and the consolidation of Taiwan’s democracy, and the inclusion of Taiwan in the EU’s “Indo-Pacific Cooperation Strategy” as an important partner.
In addition, the report also encourages the EU and Taiwan to strengthen official exchanges at the highest level. At the same time, it calls on the European Commission to conduct pre-work such as impact assessment, scope definition and public consultation on the “Bilateral Investment Agreement” (BIA) with Taiwan before the end of this year. To prepare to start negotiations on a bilateral investment agreement with Taiwan.
Amendments
The report includes amendments that Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative for foreign and security policy, rename the “European Economic and Trade Office in Taipei” to the “EU Office in Taiwan” (EU Office in Taiwan). Taiwan) to reflect the substantial bilateral relations between Taiwan and the EU.
In addition, the European parliament temporarily added and passed amendments, emphasizing that the European parliament supports and welcomes Lithuania’s agreement to set up a representative office in Taiwan, condemns the Chinese government for imposing economic sanctions on Lithuania, and calls on the EU’s high representative for foreign and security policy, Josep Borrell and The Council of the European Union take appropriate action to support Lithuania.
Taiwan – European Union
The “Taiwan-EU Political Relations and Cooperation” report is the first official document drafted by the European parliament on the political relationship between Taiwan and the European Union.
Taiwan and the European Union are similar partners in sharing core values such as democracy, freedom, human rights, and the rule of law. Since the EU granted Taiwan Schengen visa-free treatment in 2011, bilateral relations have been continuously strengthened, and the level of interaction has also continued to increase. The report coincided with the 10th anniversary of the implementation of Schengen visa exemption.
Taiwan and Lithuania agreed to establish representative offices is the best example of the continued deepening of bilateral relations between Taiwan and the European Union and its member states.
MOFA sincerely thanked the European parliament for taking concrete actions once again to support Taiwan and Lithuania, which are both democratic camps, against the bullying of autocratic regimes. Taiwan will not retreat due to coercion and will continue to adhere to its democratic beliefs, strengthen substantive cooperation with partners and countries with similar ideas such as the European Union, the United States, and Japan, and strive to consolidate the unity of the global democratic camp.
The Swedish European parliament member Charlie Weimers served as the speaker. The ministry of foreign affairs will continue to pay close attention to the voting results of the follow-up report.
