December 17, 2018
No.325
A five-member delegation led by Member of the European Parliament Agustín Díaz de Mera is visiting Taiwan from December 17 to 20 at the invitation of the government of the Republic of China （Taiwan）. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomes the visit of Mr. Díaz de Mera and his colleagues.
Mr. Díaz de Mera served as Rapporteur in 2010 of the European Parliament’s discussion on the Schengen visa waiver treatment for Taiwan passport holders, and later facilitated the European Union’s granting of such treatment. Other delegates include MEP Santiago Fisas Ayxelà, Member of the Committee on International Trade; MEPs Francesc Gambús and José Inácio Faria, both Members of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, as well as Josep Gomila Puigserver, assistant to MEP Díaz de Mera. All delegation members are visiting Taiwan for the first time, except for MEP Díaz de Mera.
The delegation seeks to gain deeper insight into Taiwan’s current policies concerning foreign and cross-strait affairs, economy and trade, the environment, and human rights, so as to further expand cooperation and exchanges between Taiwan and the European Parliament.
During their stay in Taiwan, the delegation will meet with President Tsai Ing-wen and President Su Jia-chyuan of Legislative Yuan, and call at the National Security Council, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mainland Affairs Council, and National Development Council. They will also visit sites of cultural and economic interest such as the National Palace Museum.
The European Parliament has passed numerous resolutions supporting Taiwan in recent years. This year, for example, a resolution was adopted on September 12 concerning the report on the state of EU-China relations, while another one was adopted on December 12 concerning the Annual Report on the implementation of the Common Foreign and Security Policy（CFSP）. Both resolutions expressed concern over the state of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, encouraged cross-strait dialogue, and reiterated support for Taiwan’s participation in international organizations.
The EU’s decision to provide Taiwan nationals visa-waiver privileges from January 11, 2011, has greatly facilitated people-to-people interactions and substantively advanced bilateral exchanges and cooperation. Over the last two years, the number of Taiwanese visitors to Europe and the bilateral trade figures have both reached record highs, demonstrating that ties between Taiwan and the EU continue to grow closer.
Multifaceted cooperation between Taiwan and the EU is being promoted in a wide array of fields. The 30th Taiwan-EU Annual Consultations on trade and non-trade issues were held successfully in November and December this year, and dialogue platforms are expanding to cover areas such as industry, human rights, labor affairs, and the digital economy. Producing excellent results, these platforms serve as a robust framework to further deepen the Taiwan-EU friendship.（E）