President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of January 10 with a delegation led by Kinga Goncz, vice chair of the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. Besides extending a welcome to the delegation on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, President Ma also expressed his hopes that Taiwan and the European Union (EU) will be able to commence negotiations on an economic cooperation agreement or a trade expansion agreement in order to strengthen bilateral trade and economic relations.
In remarks, the president first extended his congratulations to the EU for winning the Nobel Peace Prize. He pointed out that Europe is currently enjoying its greatest period of peace in the past six decades, which makes it deserving of this recognition. In addition, President Ma commented, this marks Vice Chair Goncz's first visit to Taiwan. Prior to becoming a member of the European Parliament, she served as Hungary's first female minister of foreign affairs, he said. At that time, she tapped into the relationships she had with counterparts in other European countries to assist in obtaining visa-free courtesies for ROC nationals traveling to Europe. At present, he stated, the number of countries or areas that offer visa-free courtesies to ROC nationals has increased to 131, up from 54 when he took office in 2008. President Ma also pointed out that this level of acceptance is unprecedented in the ROC's history.
President Ma also mentioned that January 11 of this year, which marks the two-year anniversary of the EU granting visa-free courtesies to Taiwan, coincides with Justice Day here. This holiday was created to commemorate the day 70 years ago when the ROC signed the so-called "equal treaties" with the United Kingdom and the United States, thus putting an end to extraterritoriality. This enhanced the ROC's international status, he said.
The president also expressed his appreciation to the EU for supporting participation for Taiwan in international institutions in its Common Foreign and Security Policy report. He also noted that the European Parliament on many occasions has passed resolutions advocating the signing of an economic cooperation agreement with Taiwan. Meanwhile, Catherine Ashton, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, recently issued a public statement regarding the dispute in the East China Sea centering on sovereignty over the Diaoyutai Islets. In the statement, the EU called for peaceful solutions, which coincides with the principles put forth in the East China Sea Peace Initiative advocated by the ROC, he said. Meanwhile, Chairman Elmar Brok of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs, Vice Chairwoman Laima Andrikiene of the EU-Taiwan Friendship Group, and European Parliamentarian Eduard Kukan have all issued press statements supporting the Initiative, for which the president expressed his deep appreciation.
President Ma furthermore stated that the East China Sea Peace Initiative was inspired by the peaceful means used by European nations to resolve disputes over oil fields in the North Sea and their decision to jointly share the oil resources. The largest source of inspiration related to the statement "although sovereignty over national territory cannot be compromised, natural resources can be shared," he said. Consequently, in the future when the ROC faces any international disputes involving international issues, it will be willing to cooperate with the EU and seek to resolve the controversy in a peaceful manner, the president noted.
With respect to trade relations between Taiwan and the EU, President Ma stressed that the EU is Taiwan's fourth largest trading partner and largest source of foreign direct investments, with a total stock that now exceeds US$31.3 billion. Meanwhile, he pointed out that Taiwan is the EU's sixth largest trading partner in Asia and its 19th largest trading partner in the world. Last year, bilateral trade volume declined due to the impact of the eurozone debt crisis, but there were signs that a rebound began in the fourth quarter, he said. The president stated that Taiwan is extremely confident that bilateral trade this year will increase. In addition, he remarked, the number of ROC nationals traveling to Europe has increased some 30-40% since the EU granted Taiwan visa-free courtesies. The people of Taiwan not only admire European culture, but also have considerable spending power, which the president said he believes is conducive to the development of bilateral economic relations.
Looking to the future, President Ma expressed his desire for Taiwan and the EU to negotiate an economic cooperation agreement or a trade expansion agreement, thereby strengthening bilateral trade and economic ties. The president also said he hopes that even more members of the European Parliament will visit here in order to better understand Taiwan.
The delegation, which also included European Parliament Member Danuta Jazlowiecka, was escorted to the Presidential Office by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Vanessa Yea-Ping Shih (史亞平) to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting were Secretary-General to the President Timothy Chin-tien Yang (楊進添) and National Security Council Advisor Francis Yi-Hua Kan (甘逸驊).