President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of July 21 with a delegation from the European Parliament (EP). In addition to extending the visitors a cordial welcome, the president also expressed hope that the delegation members will support the signing of a bilateral investment agreement (BIA) between the ROC and the European Union (EU), thus continuing to deepen cooperation and interaction between the two sides in a wide variety of areas.
In remarks, President Ma said that 140 members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are members of the European Parliament-Taiwan Friendship Group, which represents about 20% of the total of 751 MEPs. The members of the Friendship Group are thus an important source of influence in promoting the development of ROC-European relations, he said.
The president stated that between 2009 and 2014, the EP passed a total of seven resolutions friendly to the ROC, including support for Taiwan's participation in the International Civil Aviation Organization and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, for the signing of a bilateral economic cooperation agreement (ECA), and for the East China Sea Peace Initiative, as well as the EU's granting of visa-free courtesies to ROC nationals. The EP has also suggested to the European Commission that the EU begin talks with the ROC on an investment protection and market access agreement.
President Ma mentioned that on June 2 of this year Chairman Werner Langen, writing on behalf of the European Parliament-Taiwan Friendship Group, issued a strong statement of support for the South China Sea Peace Initiative that the president proposed on May 26. Chairman Langen also on June 8 penned a letter to the president and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, indicating his strong support for that initiative. President Ma expressed his gratitude for Chairman Langen's support, as well as his hope that the visiting delegation will continue to support the ROC in its efforts to promote regional peace.
Discussing ROC-EU economic and trade relations, President Ma pointed out that the EU is the ROC's fifth largest trading partner, with bilateral trade last year reaching US$50.9 billion, an increase of 3.7% from the same period in 2013. He also noted that European companies are the biggest source of foreign investment in Taiwan, with aggregate investment reaching US$33 billion as of the end of last year.
As for bilateral investment, President Ma stated that when Germany's Merck Group, a leading company for products in healthcare, life science and performance materials, in 2013 established the first R&D and applications center for new technology in Asia, it chose to do so in Taiwan. Britain's ARM, the world's leading semiconductor intellectual property (IP) supplier, also chose Taiwan to build its first CPU Design Center in Asia in 2014. Major Taiwan enterprises such as ACER, AU Optronics (AUO), Delta Electronics, Evergreen Marine Corp., Giant, and Hon Hai/Foxconn Technology Group have also made investments in Europe. Other examples include L'Hotel de Chin (LDC) Hotels & Resorts Group, which invested in a hotel in Italy, and Cathay Life Insurance, which invested ₤400 million to set up a real estate investment company in the UK last year. All of these examples point to a burgeoning market in bilateral investments, he said.
President Ma explained to the visitors that the ROC has consistently sought to negotiate and sign FTAs with its trading partners to promote trade liberalization and regional economic integration. After signing the Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement with mainland China in 2010, Taiwan also signed economic cooperation agreements with Japan, New Zealand, and Singapore. In addition, the ROC and the United States have resumed negotiations under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, he remarked.
President Ma further explained that after the ANZTEC economic cooperation agreement between the ROC and New Zealand took effect in December 2013, bilateral trade in 2014 was up 12.5% from the same period last year. Meanwhile, the ASTEP economic partnership agreement between Taiwan and Singapore took effect in April 2014, and bilateral trade up to the end of that year grew by 5%. These statistics support economists' contention that free trade agreements are conducive to trade growth, the president said.
President Ma also hopes that the EU will complete an impact assessment on the signing of a BIA with Taiwan as soon as possible, followed by the commencement of the relevant negotiations. This would help to create even closer cooperative relations between the two sides, he stated.
Looking ahead, the president emphasized that the ROC and Europe share the universal values of freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. The ROC has learned from the EU's experiences, and he hopes that the two sides will continue to deepen cooperation and interaction in a wide variety of areas based on the existing foundation.
The delegation included Vice-Chair of the EP's Committee on Transport and Tourism Dieter-Lebrecht Koch, and MEPs Marc Tarabella, Javier Nart, Sven Schulze, Ivan Stefanec, and Adam Szejnfeld.