The government is fully committed to deepening relations with the EU through expanding bilateral cooperation across a broad spectrum of areas, according to Premier Su Tseng-chang Nov. 3.
While Taiwan and the EU are geographically distant, the like-minded partners are bound by freedom, democracy, respect for human rights, free trade and a commitment to disarming disinformation, Su said. Relations between the two sides are going from strength to strength as evidenced by increasingly robust economic and investment links and frequent people-to-people exchanges, he added.
Su’s remarks came during a meeting with a delegation comprising seven members of the European Parliament. The group is led by Raphael Glucksmann of France, chair of the EP Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the European Union, including Disinformation (INGE).
According to Su, the government and people sincerely welcome the first official delegation from the EP to visit Taiwan. This positive development underscores the importance the EP attaches to two-way ties, he said.
The closeness of these bonds came to the fore during the COVID-19 pandemic, Su said, citing Taiwan’s donations of 7 million surgical masks in 2020 to several EU member states and vaccine dose donations to the country this year by the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia.
Su also took the opportunity to thank the EP for consistently supporting Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the World Health Organization, as well as passage last month of the EU-Taiwan Political Relations and Cooperation report calling for enhanced bilateral relations.
In response, Glucksmann praised Taiwan’s democratic achievement and described the country as a global role model. The delegation’s three-day visit shows how Taiwan is high on the agenda in Brussels and in every EU member state, he said.
Taiwan is a laboratory and hub for the fight against foreign interference and the preservation of democracy, Glucksmann said. As Europe is also facing interference from authoritarian regimes, the delegation looks forward to learning from the Taiwan experience.
According to the MOFA, the delegation will also meet with President Tsai Ing-wen, other senior government officials and take part in a series of discussions with locally based civic organizations, media outlets and think tanks. (SFC-E)
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