The European Council of Com-merce and Trade (ECCT, 歐僑商會) in Taipei said that it welcomes the establishment of a liaison office being established in Taiwan by European Union in their effort to bolster bilateral trade relations, a council official said yesterday.
Council CEO Theo Stiftl expressed his full support and welcome to the recent passage by the European Commission, the executive arm of the 15-member European Union, of a proposal to open a representative office in Taipei.
"In view of Taiwan's expected accession to the World Trade Organization and the European Commission's role in managing trade relations, we hope to open a trade representative office in Taiwan," the commission said in the proposal, which is part of a plan to restructure the EU's overseas representative offices.
Stiftl said he has no idea when exactly the EU will set up a liaison office in Taiwan as the plan will have to be referred to the European Parliament, the EU's legislative arm; and the EU's decision-making Council of Ministers for final decision.
According to an assessment by the European Council, Stiftl said, the EU is most likely to set up the representative office in Taiwan after Taiwan is formally admitted to the WTO, which is expected to occur next year.
The possibility of the establishment of such an office this year is fairly low, Stiftl said. He said that Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Hsin-yi (林信義) will probably visit Europe this year exclusively for expediting bilateral business and trade exchanges between Taiwan and Europe, as well as for lobbying for support for Taiwan in its bid to join the WTO.
With Taiwan's imminent entry into the WTO, Lin's possible visit to Europe, and the EU's plans to set up a liaison office in Taiwan, bilateral relations between Europe and Taiwan are expected to improve by leaps and bounds, Stiftl said.
Meanwhile, according to the latest report by the ECCT, which is the major grouping of European companies and services in Taiwan, fresh investment made in Taiwan by European firms totaled about US$400 million in the first four months of this year, representing an increase of 8 percent over the same period in 2000.
Of that total, US$190 million was channeled into 12 investment projects in the wholesale sector and US$70 million was remitted for four investment projects in finance and insurance operations.
Other new investment projects included those in the food processing industry, the manufacturing of precision instruments, construction and real estate, and chemicals.
Despite a worldwide economic slump and Taiwan's own floundering economy, European businesses are still confident in Taiwan's investment climate, Stiftl said, adding that Taiwan's imminent accession to the WTO is the key factor in continuing to attract the European companies to Taiwan.
Stiftl suggested that the ROC government make out concrete and feasible economic and financial policies quickly so as to further improve Taiwan's investment climate and environment.
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