A delegation from the European Parliament’s international trade committee will arrive in Taiwan on Sunday for a four-day visit that will include discussions with Taiwanese officials about Taiwan-EU bilateral trade and investment.
The 13-member delegation, led by Greek parliamentarian and the committee’s vice chair Anna-Michelle Asimakopoulou, will meet with President Tsai Ing-wen (???), Premier Su Tseng-chang (???), and other senior Taiwanese officials from the National Development Council, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and the Office of Trade Negotiations under the Executive Yuan, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said in a press statement on Friday.
The international trade committee noted that the delegation was also scheduled to meet with representatives of the semiconductor sector, trade unions, as well as environmental and women’s rights groups.
According to MOFA, the group’s planned Taiwan trip from Dec. 18-21 will be the third official visit from the European Parliament since 2021, following Vice-President of the European Parliament Nicola Beer in July, and members of the Special Committee on Foreign Interference (INGE) last November.
In a press statement issued on Friday, Asimakopoulou said the planned official visit would be “a reflection of the important role that Taiwan can play in some of the EU’s long-term priorities.”
“As members of the Committee on International Trade, we want to focus on how we can build on our existing trading relationship and to discuss areas where we think we can boost investments across our respective jurisdictions,” she added.
Meanwhile, MOFA said the delegation and Taiwan government officials would have in-depth discussions about bilateral trade and investment, including issues related to a bilateral investment agreement (BIA).
Taiwan’s government has repeatedly expressed an interest in signing a BIA with the EU, with Tsai saying at an investment forum in Taipei in October that such a pact would boost more investment in Taiwan and the EU by each other’s companies.
Meanwhile, the European Parliament has also backed a BIA between Taiwan and the EU, with a 2021 report indicating the issue would be “a central feature of future cooperation” between the two sides.
In a resolution adopted in July, the European Parliament “repeats its call on the [European] Commission to begin an impact assessment, public consultation and scoping exercise on a bilateral investment agreement with Taiwan in preparation for negotiations to deepen bilateral economic ties.”
In addition to Asimakopoulou, the delegation also includes six members of the European Parliament from different parties or countries, namely Jörgen Warborn, Kathleen Van Brempt, Marie-Pierre Vedrenne, Karin Karlsbro, Michiel Hoogeveen, and Reinhard Bütikofer, as well as six senior staffers, MOFA said in its statement.
The series of visits to Taiwan by MEPs fully demonstrate the European Parliament’s support for and focus on Taiwan, MOFA said, adding that it looks forward to working with the EU and other partners to further their relationships.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel