Steps should be taken toward establishing a bilateral investment agreement between the EU and Taiwan, European Member of Parliament Anna-Michelle Asimakopoulou said in Taipei yesterday.
Asimakopoulou, a Greek politician who is vice chair of the parliament’s International Trade Committee, is part of a delegation that met with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) at the Presidential Office.
The EU recognizes its trade and investment partnership with Taiwan as a “strategic relationship with geopolitical implications,” Asimakopoulou said.
Photo: CNA
Further bilateral cooperation on global supply chains would be mutually beneficial in light of the leading role that Taiwan plays with respect to semiconductors, she said.
Given the circumstances, the European Parliament calls on the EU to launch “an impact assessment, a public consultation and a scoping exercise” related to a bilateral investment agreement with Taiwan, she said.
Those assessments and consultations are part of the preparations needed before the two sides can officially begin negotiations on the issue.
Photo courtesy of the Presidential Office
Taiwan and the EU are like-minded partners, with their friendship built on the common values of democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights, she said.
It is in that spirit that the delegation expresses its gratitude to Taiwan for being “on the right side of history” in supporting the EU’s efforts to help Ukraine defend itself in response to “the unconscionable war of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin,” Asimakopoulou said.
She also praised Taiwan for its “measured and responsible reaction to unprovoked and increasing aggression and provocation from China,” referring to military drills launched by Beijing after US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in early August.
Asimakopoulou reiterated the EU’s stance that even though it diplomatically recognizes Beijing and not Taipei, it believes the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait “cannot be changed unilaterally,” as it opposes “the use or threat of force or economic coercion against Taiwan from China.”
Tsai earlier welcomed the delegation, the first official visit to Taiwan by a delegation representing the trade committee.
She also thanked the European Parliament and its committees for this year passing more than 10 resolutions in support of Taiwan, including measures backing the nation’s international participation, and calling for peace and security across the Taiwan Strait.
The 13-member delegation also met with Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and other senior officials from the National Development Council, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Office of Trade Negotiations and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during their stay, which began Sunday and ends today.
Also yesterday, Tsai welcomed a group of visiting US lawmakers at the Presidential Office.
The all-Republican group led by US Representative John Curtis and including US representatives Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Burgess Owens and Michelle Steel is in Taiwan from Saturday through tomorrow.
The US group’s visit means that 36 US representatives and senators have visited Taiwan this year, reflecting strong bipartisan support for Taiwan, the foreign ministry said.
During their meeting with Tsai, Curtis, who lived in Taiwan in 1979 and 1980 as a missionary, told the president that he has since then witnessed Taiwan’s dramatic change into a vibrant democracy.
“I arrived just after the end of the defense treaty and the switch of diplomatic recognition [Washington recognizing Beijing] and the passage of the Taiwan Relations Act,” he said.
He said that although it was a difficult time for Taiwan, he appreciated how warmly he was welcomed by the people of Taichung, Miaoli County and Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖), places he lived at the time.
The delegation’s visit was to be a testament to the US Congress’ strong support for Taiwan, Curtis said.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat