October 30, 2017
No.200
Mr. Kosma Złotowski, Member of the Committee on Transport and Tourism, and Co-treasurer of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR) in the European Parliament, is leading a six-member ECR delegation to Taiwan from October 29 to November 3, 2017, at the invitation of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). The visit will give the delegation a better understanding of economic and political developments in Taiwan, as well as EU-Taiwan and cross-strait relations.
The delegation will meet with Vice President Chen Chien-jen, call on President of the Legislative Yuan Su Jia-chyuan, call at the National Security Council, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the National Development Council, the Mainland Affairs Council, the European Economic and Trade Office, the Democratic Progressive Party, and the Kuomintang. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will host a luncheon in their honor. They will also visit other sites of cultural and economic interest, such as the National Palace Museum, the National Theater Hall & National Concert Hall, and Taipei 101, as well as Kinmen.
The EP is made up of 751 MEPs representing the more than 500 million people of the 28 member states of the European Union. It has passed resolutions favorable to Taiwan on multiple occasions, including support for Taiwan’s participation in the International Civil Aviation Organization and Schengen visa-waiver treatment for Taiwan passport holders. The EP has also affirmed the positive development of cross-strait relations and called on the European Commission to launch negotiations with Taiwan on an investment protection and market access agreement. It also adopted a resolution in 2016, calling on the European Commission to immediately launch negotiations with Taiwan on a bilateral investment agreement.
The European Union is Taiwan’s fifth largest trading partner, and Taiwan is the EU’s seventh largest trading partner in Asia, with bilateral trade reaching US$49 billion in 2016. European enterprises are also Taiwan’s largest source of foreign investment, with total investments reaching US$43.3 billion as of the end of September 2017. In addition, recent years have seen the two sides further expand cooperation in such areas as science and technology, environmental protection, education, customs and tariffs, information and communications technology, mutual judicial assistance, youth working holidays, food safety, and innovation research, thereby deepening the partnership between the European and Union Taiwan.
Other delegation members include MEPs Ulrike Trebesius, who serves on the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, Anders Vistisen, the vice chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Nikolay Barekov and Zdzisław Krasnodębski, who both serve on the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, and Mr. Wojciech Danecki, the head of Unit for Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Security and Defence in the ECR. (E)