During a meeting on the morning of April 5 with a visiting delegation of members of the European Parliament, President Ma Ying-jeou stated that since Taiwan and mainland China signed the Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) in June 2010, the number of items covered by tariff-free treatment has increased from 14% to 94%. This has attracted many countries, including Japan, to invest in Taiwan, he said, adding that the tariff-free benefits of exporting products to mainland China from Taiwan could also be advantageous to European companies that invest here.
In remarks, the president stated that investment in Taiwan by European nations has reached a total stock of about US$30 billion, accounting for about 30% of foreign investment here and constituting Taiwan's largest source of foreign investment. In addition, the European Union (EU) is Taiwan's fourth largest trading partner, while Taiwan is the EU's 15th largest. Bilateral trade last year reached US$52.5 billion, which accounted for nearly 9% of Taiwan's external trade. Trade with the EU last year increased 8% from the previous year, he noted, which indicates that bilateral trade and economic ties continue to strengthen. In particular, Taiwan has come to play a more active role on the international economic stage since the signing of the ECFA with mainland China. For instance, Taiwan and Japan signed their first investment agreement in 60 years last year. In addition, Taiwan is presently in talks with Singapore and New Zealand on economic cooperation agreements. The president pointed out that Taiwan intends to make the best use of this opportunity to expand ties with its major trading partners throughout the world.
President Ma also expressed his appreciation to the EU and the European Parliament for passing a total of 16 resolutions supporting meaningful participation for Taiwan in international organizations and activities such as the International Civil Aviation Organization and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. This indicates that Taiwan's policy of "viable diplomacy" has won support and acceptance in Europe. President Ma commented that the parliament members Krzysztof Lisek and Bastiaan Belder have each led three delegations on visits to Taiwan and that this is the 16th delegation from the European Parliament with which he has met since taking office in May 2008. The president remarked that this symbolizes the increasingly close relationship between Taiwan and the EU, and also demonstrates the European Parliament's longstanding friendship and support for Taiwan.
The president told the visitors that the number of Taiwanese visiting Europe has increased considerably since 35 European jurisdictions granted visa-free courtesies to Taiwan on January 11 last year . From March until December of last year, for instance, the number of visits made by Taiwanese to these countries increased 57.8% from the same period a year earlier. This has not only bolstered trade, economic, and investment relations between the two sides, but has also helped to increase cultural and educational interactions. The president furthermore described the bilateral relationship as increasingly becoming an "outstanding partnership."
President Ma also mentioned that many Taiwanese upon returning to Taiwan have expressed that the visa-free treatment not only saved them time and money, but also made them feel that "the nation is respected and our people have dignity" when we enter other nations. The president expressed his hopes that bilateral relations will continue to move forward based on the existing strong foundation.
The delegation was led by European Parliament members Jim Higgins and Boguslaw Liberadzki , who both serve as the EP Quaestors, to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tung Kuoyu (董國猷) and National Security Council Deputy Secretary General Chih-kung Liu (劉志攻).