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.
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