President Ma Ying-jeou met with a delegation from the European Parliament Taiwan Friendship Group on the morning of October 27 at the Presidential Office. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC (Taiwan), extended a warm welcome and appreciation to the members of the European Parliament on their visit to Taiwan.
President Ma remarked that the European Parliament Taiwan Friendship Group has been the most powerful group in the European Parliament supporting Taiwan in recent years. Just recently, the European Parliament passed two resolutions supporting Taiwan's right to increase participation in the international community, and is urging that tourists from Taiwan be provided visa-free courtesies.
The president recounted the steps taken by the European Parliament exhibiting friendship to Taiwan. Among other actions, the parliament provided a high profile reception to Legislative Yuan President Wang Jin-pyng when he visited the European Parliament in February, and offered congratulations to Taiwan upon attending the World Health Assembly in May and to President Ma on his first anniversary of taking office. The president said that these gestures demonstrate a steady strengthening of relations between Taiwan and the European Parliament since he took office last year.
President Ma commented that European Commission President José Manuel Barroso specially expressed his concern after landslides and flooding ravaged parts of southern Taiwan in early August after Typhoon Morakot. The European Union provided substantial amounts of rescue assistance and the European Parliament also conveyed its sympathy. President Ma said he would like to express his gratitude for this generosity on behalf of the people of Taiwan, adding that he hopes that Taiwan will see further improvement in relations with the European Parliament and European Union. Besides providing more room for Taiwan in the international community, the president said that this would help bolster bilateral relations with member nations of the European Union.
Dr. Charles Tannock, Chairman of the European Parliament Taiwan Friendship Group, expressed his appreciation to President Ma for taking time out of his busy schedule to meet with the delegation. He also expressed the delegation's deepest concern with regards to the damage caused to southern Taiwan by Typhoon Morakot. Dr. Tannock stressed that Taiwan has many longstanding friends in Europe and that he looks forward to continued improvement in substantive relations between the two sides.