In this year, the European Union (EU) completed maybe its greatest challenge since the signing of the Treaty of Rome in 1957. On May the 1st, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia, Malta, Cyprus and the three Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined the European family.
Germany in the expanded European Union is no longer at the edge of Europe. Suddenly it is between the old and new member states. The European Union of 450 million people is the biggest economy on earth, and one-fifth of its population is German. Germany is the most important economy with the biggest market in the EU. Today Germany is the geographic and economic centre of Europe. Germany acts as a magnet, because for many of its neighbours (no country in Europe shares more borders than Germany) it is the most important trading partner made more attractive because of its purchasing power. This is especially true for the new emerging markets in Eastern Europe.
Also because of German Re-Unification and the expansion of the EU, it has undertaken a comprehensive reform of its extensive welfare state. With Agenda 2010 Chancellor Schroeder proposes a reform initiative that will reduce the burden on the state and increase the competitiveness of German businesses. Moreover, the employment market is being deregulated to increase the jobs market.
At the same time Germany is focusing on its core competencies as never before. One of these competencies is the transportation routes including public mains supply and data circuits. Germany's new central position makes it one of the most important distribution locations in Europe.
The German workforce is well known worldwide for its efficiency, high degree of reliability and motivation. Dual vocational training and skilled tradesman make German workers among the best educated in the world. Investors from abroad appreciate German craftsmanship, although the wage costs may be higher than elsewhere.
A synonym for all these attributes is the "Made in Germany" trademark which, to people all around the world, means quality, reliability, longevity, innovation, efficient production processes and excellent engineering. These traits apply to the big companies as well as small and medium enterprises. Germany, with it's unique economy made up of 80% specialized small and medium-sized businesses, offers an ideal environment for finding excellent investment partners. To make the most of the expansion of the EU and the challenges and opportunities this presents, German businesses are also strenghtening and enhancing their relationships with businesses in other parts of the world, including Asia-Pacific. It is not surprising that many German companies that are strong in Eastern Europe also seek business partners in the Far East. Take Taiwan as an example. Germany was the most important trading partner in the EU for Taiwan and the bilateral trade rose more than 11 % from 2002 to 2003. In an enlarged European Union the economies of Germany and Taiwan are in many ways complementary, and should be developed for future mutual benefit.
To foster German bi-lateral business ties with Taiwan, the German Trade Office Taipei offers companies from both sides comprehensive products and services to ensure success in a changing and competitive environment. Taiwan and German companies face similar challenges to advanced economies with big emerging markets and new competition.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
NOVEL METHODS: The PLA has adopted new approaches and recently conducted three combat readiness drills at night which included aircraft and ships, an official said Taiwan is monitoring China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) exercises for changes in their size or pattern as the nation prepares for president-elect William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration on May 20, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. Tsai made the comment at a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, in response to Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu’s (王定宇) questions. China continues to employ a carrot-and-stick approach, in which it applies pressure with “gray zone” tactics, while attempting to entice Taiwanese with perks, Tsai said. These actions aim to help Beijing look like it has
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
UNWAVERING: Paraguay remains steadfast in its support of Taiwan, but is facing growing pressure at home and abroad to switch recognition to Beijing, Pena said Paraguayan President Santiago Pena has pledged to continue enhancing cooperation with Taiwan, as he and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expressed opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait using force, Japanese media reported on Saturday. Kishida yesterday completed a trip to France, Brazil and Paraguay, his first visit to South America since taking office in 2021. After the Japanese leader and Pena spoke for more than an hour on Friday, exchanging views on the situation in East Asia in the face of China’s increasing military pressure on Taiwan, they affirmed that “unilateral attempts to change the