The European Parliament yesterday passed a resolution requiring the EU to quickly sign an agreement with Taiwan on supply chain resilience and to strongly support Taiwan’s participation in international organizations.
That would also include Taiwan working with the EU to reform the WTO.
Before the vote on resolution 2023/2829(RSP), which involves Taiwan-EU trade and investment relations, European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis on Tuesday said that there were little to no obstacles facing Taiwan-EU trade as both regions believe in a free market and have adopted a democratic model of government.
Photo: Screen grab from Dombrovskis’ X account
However, local content requirements presented obstacles for off-shore wind farm investments in Taiwan, and border quarantine regulations made it difficult to export processed goods to Taiwan, especially meat products, Dombrovskis said.
Commenting on how Taiwan and the EU could mutually improve market resilience in light of current geopolitical conditions, Dombrovskis said that ministerial-level trade dialogue between Taiwan and the EU began last year.
He said that the issues discussed have shifted from trade to economic security, including foreign direct investment monitoring and management, cooperation on economic sanctions and restricting exports of goods for the civilian and military sectors.
Regarding the possibility of a Taiwan-EU agreement on supply chain resilience being signed, he said that the agreement involves multiple departments, and he could not answer for them.
Taiwan and the EU held annual talks on trade issues, he said, adding: “Now is the time for Taiwan to demonstrate a willingness to handle what we are concerned about.”
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from several countries have called the European Commission out on its conservative attitude toward Taiwan, with Spanish, French and German members saying that there is an evident discrepancy in how the EU treats Taiwan compared with other nations.
Dutch MEP Michiel Hoogeveen said Taiwan-EU relations should not be dependent on how China might react, while Swedish MEP Karin Karlsbro said a bilateral Taiwan-EU trade agreement “will send a clear message to Beijing” that China cannot decide who the EU wishes to establish trade relations with.
Other members, such as Belgian MEP Kathleen van Brempt, said Taiwan has a critical role in the EU’s regional strategy, especially regarding geopolitics.
Slovakian MEP Ivan Stefanec and Lithuanian MEP Liudas Mazylis said that Taiwan is a strategic partner for the EU, both economically and regarding the defense of democracy.
They said the EU should voice support for Tawan’s participation in multilateral organizations, such as the World Health Assembly.
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
RSS