President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of September 30 with a delegation from the European Parliament's European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR). The president talked about the close and friendly relations between the ROC and Europe, and expressed hope that the visitors will support Taiwan's participation in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), as well as continue to urge the European Commission to open negotiations with Taiwan on a bilateral investment agreement (BIA) as soon as possible.
In remarks, the president stated that on September 29 he was invited by Dr. Werner Langen, the chairman of the European Parliament-Taiwan Friendship Group, to participate in a videoconference with members of the European Parliament. The videoconference provided a platform for an in-depth exchange of views on ROC-European relations, and the president said that the European Parliament members provided many suggestions on cross-strait relations and Taiwan's economic development. President Ma reiterated his deepest gratitude for the support the members of the European Parliament have shown for the ROC.
President Ma mentioned that a new era in relations between the ROC and the European Union (EU) and its member nations began after he took office in May of 2008, marked by friendly and close interaction. The EU, he said, provided ROC nationals with visa-free courtesies in Schengen Agreement member states starting in January 2011, an important milestone in bilateral ties. Since then, ROC nationals have been able to enter over 60 European countries and areas without visas, sparking continued growth in the number of ROC nationals visiting Europe for tourism and business purposes. The number of ROC nationals visiting the Netherlands, Portugal, and Romania last year grew over three-fold compared to 2010, he said.
The president stated that while the ROC has diplomatic relations with only 22 nations, the number of countries and areas that provide ROC nationals with visa-free entry or landing visa courtesies had increased to 148. In the 20 years before the president took office in 2008, there were less than 54, so 94 additional jurisdictions have been added to date. That number includes 11 overseas territories of France, and six of Holland's, as well as European countries like Albania and Kosovo, all of which followed suit after the EU granted visa-free treatment to ROC nationals.
As for Taiwan-EU relations, over the past seven years Taiwan has signed 79 official agreements and memorandums of understanding with the EU and European countries covering cooperative relationships on various levels and in various areas including technology, education, customs and tariffs, telecommunications, judicial assistance, youth working holiday programs, food safety, innovation, and R&D.
President Ma then explained that in March of this year the ROC's Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Warsaw and Poland's Warsaw Trade Office in Taipei signed an air transport agreement. That agreement has created an institutionalized cooperative platform for the civil aviation industries in both countries, facilitating bilateral tourism and logistics. In May of this year the Food and Drug Administration under the ROC's Ministry of Health and Welfare and the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare under the Council of Europe also signed a confidentiality agreement to exchange non-public information about quality control for substances that have pharmaceutical use such as Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) and excipients. The agreement facilitates the exchange of information on the procedure for Certificates of suitability to the monographs of the European Pharmacopoeia (CEPs) and good manufacturing practices (GMP) inspections of manufacturers of pharmaceutical substances, which helps pharmaceutical exports. This ROC-EU information sharing ensures public safety when using pharmaceutical products, he said.
The president mentioned that over the past seven years the European Parliament and European External Action Service have passed 9 resolutions and issued 18 statements friendly to Taiwan, supporting peaceful cross-strait development, expanding our international participation, and strengthening Taiwan-EU economic and trade cooperation. The European Parliament has affirmed the East China Sea Peace Initiative, and has expressed support for signing a BIA between Taiwan and the EU and an economic cooperation agreement, as well as Taiwan's meaningful participation in international organizations. In March of this year the Parliament also passed a resolution adopting the Annual Report from the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, which praises improvements in cross-strait relations in recent years and urges the EU to enhance its economic and trade partnership with Asia-Pacific nations.
The president remarked that the East China Sea Peace Initiative that the ROC introduced in 2012 has won the support of the United States, Australia, and countries throughout Europe. The ROC, he said, has also signed a fisheries agreement with Japan, resolving a fishing dispute that had lasted over 40 years. This resolution is spurring development of the fishing industries in both countries, he said.
President Ma stated that the European Parliament back in March 2010 passed a resolution supporting the ROC's observer status in the UNFCCC. The president called on the visiting European Parliament members—Boleslaw G. Piecha, Jorn Dohrmann, and Jadwiga Wisniewska—to exercise their influence as members of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, supporting entry for Taiwan, or at least seeking government observer status for Taiwan in the UNFCCC. President Ma said that although the ROC is unable to take part in UNFCCC activities, it has made pledges to the international community to reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases. Recently, the legislature formally passed the Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction and Management Act, and he said that the ROC has also drafted its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution, thereby demonstrating its determination and efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
Commenting on Taiwan-EU economic and trade relations, the president noted that the EU is Taiwan's fifth largest trading partner, and Taiwan is the EU's seventh largest trading partner in Asia, and 19th largest overall. In 2014, two-way trade reached US$50.9 billion, up 3.7% over the previous year. The EU is also Taiwan's largest aggregate source of foreign investment, with total investments reaching US$33 billion by the end of 2014.
President Ma then mentioned that since he took office, the ROC has signed the Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement with mainland China, the Taiwan-Japan Bilateral Investment Arrangement, the ANZTEC agreement with New Zealand, and the ASTEP agreement with Singapore. Taiwan and the United States also resumed negotiations under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement. The government is also actively seeking to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. These moves highlight the government's determination to expand economic and trade relations. The president also called for signing agreements in the fields of economics and trade with the EU.
The president then stated that the EU and mainland China initiated negotiations on a BIA almost two years ago, and that relations between Taiwan and mainland China have improved considerably. The European Parliament in October 2013 also passed a resolution on EU-Taiwan trade relations calling on the EU to launch negotiations with Taiwan on an investment protection and market entry agreement.
President Ma emphasized that now is the best time for the EU and Taiwan to start parallel talks on a BIA. He then proposed that the visiting European Parliament members continue to urge the European Commission to open talks with Taiwan on this accord, which will have a synergistic effect with the ECFA, and benefit one and all.
The delegation also included European Parliament ECR group members Edward Czesak and Amjad Bashir.