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President Tsai Ing-wen met with a delegation from the European Parliament-Taiwan Friendship Group on the morning of February 20. She thanked them for their longstanding support for Taiwan, and expressed hope for increased bilateral exchanges and cooperation based on shared core ideals and values, so that Taiwan-EU relations can continue to move steadily forward.
Before the meeting began, European Parliament-Taiwan Friendship Group Chair Werner Langen presented a statement promoting peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait cosigned by 155 European Parliament members to the president, and stated that the message conveyed by this statement is more relevant than ever. Peace, stability, and prosperity for Taiwan and the entire region can only be achieved through dialogue, not threats or force. President Tsai then expressed thanks for the European Parliament's support on behalf of the people and government of Taiwan and stated that she looked forward to further cooperation in the future.
In remarks that followed, President Tsai began by welcoming her visitors, all old friends of Taiwan, back to Taiwan, especially Chair Langen. Since taking up the chairmanship of the European Parliament-Taiwan Friendship Group in 2014, Chair Langen has constantly striven to promote relations between Taiwan and the European Parliament, the president said, and she offered her sincere thanks for all of his hard work. She stated that she was also delighted by the gift Chair Langen had presented to Taiwan.
President Tsai pointed out that Chair Langen played a leading role in the signing of a statement promoting cross-strait peace and stability by 155 members of the European Parliament-Taiwan Friendship Group. This statement once again proves that as long as we remain committed to principles of democracy and freedom, international society will continue to give us their utmost support, she said.
She mentioned that over the past two years, China's suppression of Taiwan's international participation and attempts to unilaterally change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait have caused great concern in the international community. President Tsai also took note of this year's European Parliament debate on the latest developments in cross-strait relations, where Chair Langen and Members of the European Parliament (MEP) present— Bas Belder, Eduard Kukan, and Cristian Dan Preda—all took a stand to speak up for Taiwan. President Tsai thanked them for their support on behalf of the people of Taiwan.
The president stated that over the years, the European Parliament-Taiwan Friendship Group has endorsed resolutions pertaining to Taiwan and consistently shown its support for Taiwan through concrete action. For example, in a resolution passed last May, the European Parliament called on the European Commission to finish the preparatory work for a Taiwan-EU bilateral investment agreement as soon as possible. Last December, the European Parliament also passed a resolution that once again emphasized the need to maintain security and peace in the Indo-Pacific region, reiterating Taiwan's importance, both strategically and in terms of regional security.
In closing, the president stated that Taiwan will continue to be an important, like-minded partner for the EU. She expressed hope for increased exchanges and cooperation based on the core ideals and values that we share, so that Taiwan-EU relations can continue to move steadily forward.
Also present in the delegation were European Parliament-Taiwan Friendship Group Honorary Chair Georg Jarzembowski, Policy Advisor Michael Hahn of the Group of the European People's Party, and MEP Kukan's Policy Advisor Juraj Sevella.
