The delegation of the "International Trade Commission" (INTA) of the European Parliament held a press conference in the auditorium of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 21st. Mr. Asima Coppolo, Vice Chairman of the International Trade Committee of the European Parliament (4th from left), and Mr. Vauban, Deputy Coordinator of the People's Party Group of the International Trade Commission (3rd from right), Mr. Feng Anlan (3rd from left), Mr. Wadeland, Vice-Chairman (2nd from right), Mr. Caboro (2nd from left), Mr. Hu Xifan (right), and Mr. Paul Ruihan, head of the delegation to China relations (left ) took a group photo with Ou Jiangan (4th from right), spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and executive director of the public meeting.

(Photo by reporter Tu Jianrong)

[Reporter Yang Chengyu/Taipei Report] The European Parliament "International Trade Committee" (INTA) delegation held a press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 21st. When asked how to improve trade relations between Taiwan and Europe, Asima, Vice Chairman of the European Parliament International Trade Committee Anna-Michelle Asimakopoulou revealed that representatives of the European industry in Taiwan raised two major issues. One is the localization requirements and permits for offshore wind power, which pose certain difficulties for investment; the other is my country's plant quarantine regulations.

However, during this trip, she was very happy to hear that the relevant Chinese ministries said that they were taking concrete measures to move towards solving these problems.

Asima Coppolo pointed out that Taiwan and the EU share an important trade relationship, and the message of their visit is very clear, that is, they hope to further deepen the bilateral trade relationship in the near future.

Taiwan is a very important trading partner of the EU, ranking 12th in terms of goods trade volume; the EU is also Taiwan's largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI), accounting for 25%, more than the sum of the United States and Japan.

Taiwan has established a very important trade relationship with the European Union, and what needs to be done now is to deepen this relationship.

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Asima Coppolo also said that the EU also hopes to have mutual benefits in investment with Taiwan. Therefore, investing in Europe is also one of the factors that will bring the bilateral relationship closer.

As for the BIA in Taiwan, Asimacopolo believes that we can start with "positive".

She mentioned that the European Parliament has passed a resolution calling on the European Commission and the European Council to start the Taiwan-Europe BIA impact assessment work and discuss the preliminary preparations for the bilateral BIA.

Asimacopolo said that many political affairs are a matter of "timing", and the geopolitical and geostrategic changes after the epidemic have made Europe realize that it has a considerable strategic dependence on certain trading partners, especially It is China; together with Russia's aggression against Ukraine, various factors have highlighted the importance of trade relations between the European Union and Taiwan, not to mention Taiwan's leadership in innovative fields, such as the semiconductor industry.

And a crisis is a turning point. Although everyone is not happy to see a crisis, the timing is indeed riper than before.

When asked about China's obstruction, Asima Coppolo emphasized that the relationship between the EU and Taiwan is more important at the moment, and the relationship is currently harmonious; while the relationship between the EU and China has some problems and the situation is more complicated.

China is a partner in some respects and a "systemic competitor" in others.

China has also imposed sanctions on many European MPs. For example, her colleague Reinhard Bütikofer, head of the European Parliament delegation to China who was visiting Taiwan, was sanctioned by China.

At present, the "China-EU Comprehensive Investment Agreement" (CAI) is still on hold, and she does not think that the China-EU CAI will be resolved in the short term.

Therefore, Asimaco Polo believes that, as far as Taiwan-European BIA is concerned, now is a time point that is closer to being "correct" and "mature" than before.

The EU and Taiwan should now focus not on obstacles, but on goals, and the goal is to reach a bilateral investment agreement or a bilateral free trade agreement, or a partial supply chain agreement, to normalize and deepen bilateral trade relations .

As for the relationship between individual EU member states and China, Asimaco Poirot emphasized that regarding the threats, aggression, coercion and other situations facing Taiwan, members of the European Parliament, regardless of party or nationality, are consistent and overwhelming. support Taiwan.

Whether individual member states want to establish a closer relationship with Taiwan or maintain a distance also depends on their own relationship with China.

We can only be fully prepared for the possible consequences.

In response to China's previous economic coercion measures against Lithuania or Australia, the European Parliament's International Trade Committee is preparing a set of tools that will allow the EU to respond to this, and more importantly, deter such coercion.

Regarding EU-China relations, Paul also added that CAI was promoted by China for political rather than economic purposes. The purpose is to act as an economic plug between the United States and Europe. China's motivation is still the same today.

And as long as China's sanctions on European MPs remain, the European Parliament will never review CAI, let alone approve it.

Given that China will not lift sanctions in the short term, it is estimated that CAI will not make any progress within two years.

Paul Ruihan said that some European companies do support CAI, but more think that this agreement is not what Europe needs, because CAI does not protect European companies from unfair competition, such as data landing, anti-foreign sanctions laws or other unfair trade obstacle.

Therefore, the promotion of this case is not strong. He believes that this matter has become an established fact, and the real problem of EU-China relations lies elsewhere.

In the end, Asimaco Poirot said that they uphold the spirit of friendship during their visit to Taiwan, and that the relationship between the EU and Taiwan is based on shared democratic values ​​and respect for freedom, the rule of law and human rights.

They emphasized that in democratic Taiwan, Taiwanese must decide how they want to live their lives, and condemned China's military provocations, threats and economic coercion.

And she also strongly supports congressional diplomacy, whether it is meeting with heads of state, heads of ministries, or members of Congress, such exchanges can promote mutual understanding and closer cooperation.