Taiwan’s agreements with the EU remain applicable to the UK until the end of this year, while Taipei would continue strengthening partnerships with the UK after Brexit takes effect, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
The UK at 11pm yesterday ended its 47-year membership in the EU following a June 2016 referendum in which 51.9 percent of Britons voted to leave the bloc.
To ensure a smooth Brexit, the EU has notified Taiwan and other partners that it has reached an agreement with the UK on a “transition period,” which ends on Dec. 31 and during which EU regulations would continue to apply to Britain, the ministry said in a statement.
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuen, Taipei Times
To ensure that Taiwan-UK interactions are not affected by Brexit, the ministry had consulted with relevant agencies and obtained the Executive Yuan’s approval to make Taiwan-EU agreements, memorandums of understanding and other arrangements applicable to the UK during the 11-month period, it said.
Britain is Taiwan’s third-largest trading partner in Europe and its fifth-largest source of foreign investment, while British businesses have invested in Taiwanese industries in the fields of offshore wind power, green energy and financial technology, the ministry said.
Based on their shared values of democracy and freedom, Taiwan and the UK have maintained close collaboration in areas such as human rights, public health, democratic establishments and press freedom, it said.
In view of the post-Brexit situation, Taiwan would continue strengthening bilateral partnerships with the UK, and jointly make concrete contributions to the stability, prosperity and protection of human rights in the Asia-Pacific region, it added.
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