Taiwan-EU Relations

The EU has solid and friendly relations with Taiwan in areas such as trade, investment, science, research, education, culture, health, environment, climate change, circular economy, labour, fisheries, digital economy, cyber security, human rights and gender equality. Engagement takes place through a variety of channels, in particular the annual Taiwan-EU consultations, which facilitate dialogue on both trade and non-trade issues. The European Economic and Trade Office (EETO) in Taipei was established by the European Commission in 2003, with the function and mandate of a diplomatic representation. Currently, 15 EU Member States have established representations in Taiwan, whereas Taiwan has also official representative offices in 18 EU member states. Since the EU granted Schengen visa waiver status to Taiwan passport holders in 2011, Taiwan-EU relations in various areas have expanded significantly. Furthermore, besides the United Kingdom, Taiwan has signed Working Holiday Programs with 11 EU member states, including Germany, Ireland, Belgium, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Austria, Czech Republic, France, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.

While the EU is Taiwan’s fifth-largest trading partner in 2019, Taiwan is the EU’s fifteenth-largest trading partner globally and fifth-largest in Asia, with total bilateral trade volume amounting to $53.14 billion US dollars(UK excluded). The inclusion of Taiwan in the European Commission's “Trade for all Communication” in October 2015 is a major development, as it states that “the EU will explore launching negotiations on investment with Taiwan.” A resulting Bilateral Investment Agreement (BIA) would have a wide scope that includes investment protection and market access, amongst other issues. The EU encourages a sound flow of trade and investment between Taiwan and Europe, and it works closely with Taiwan in the World Trade Organization. The EU also supports Taiwan’s meaningful participation in International Organizations.

Taiwan’s Humanitarian assistance to the EU to fight COVID-19: President TSAI announced on April 1, 2020 Taiwan’s first round of humanitarian donation of surgical masks to support front-line medical workers in the United States and European countries most hardly hit by the COVID-19 outbreak. President Ursula von der LEYEN of the European Commission thanked Taiwan on the same day by tweeting that “The European Union thanks Taiwan for its donation of masks to help fight the #coronavirus”, adding that “This global virus outbreak requires international solidarity & cooperation. Acts like this show that we are #StrongerTogether.”

Taiwan- EP Relations

In recent years, the European Parliament (EP) has passed many resolutions supporting constructive dialogues between Taiwan and China to strengthen cross-strait stability, as well as Taiwan’s participation in international organizations, such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) .

The most recent resolutions in support of Taiwan’s cause are as follows: on October 7, 2020, the EP adopted the Annual Report on the implementation of the Common Commercial Policy(CCP), which, inter alia, calls on the Commission to swiftly launch investment negotiations with Taiwan, and invites the Commission to open a scoping exercise. On January 15, 2020, the EP adopted two resolutions, one on the implementation of the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the other one on Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), jointly calling for a peaceful solution to differences in the East and South China Sea and across the Taiwan Strait. The resolutions also address the issue of disinformation and cyber-attacks, stating that foreign authoritarian regimes are targeting other Asian countries’ elections and jeopardizing their democratic system and reiterated the EP’s support for Taiwan’s participation in international organizations.

Taiwan - EU Scientific and Research Cooperation

In 2013, Taiwan became one of the 12 target countries selected by the EU to enhance collaboration on Information and Communication Technology(ICT) under the EU FP7 (2007-2013) and the current HORIZON 2020 (2014-2020) programs. Within this cooperation framework, Taiwan has successfully participated in the international joint research consortia of the EU Framework Programs. As of September 2020, Taiwanese researchers have participated in 76 EU H2020 consortia and international joint programs of the European Research Council.

Since 2014, Taiwan and the EU have established scientific cooperation on the development of the 5G technology.

Taiwan - EU Academic Cooperation

Taiwan’s Ministry of Education (MOE) annually sponsors Programmes for European students, researchers, education personnel and European officials to take part in, thus increasing the visibility of Taiwan in Europe and stimulating exchange and collaboration in academics, research, but also in other areas such as culture and politics.

The Programmes include scholarships and awards for EU officials, European students and scholars, such as the Taiwan and Huayu Enrichment scholarships, the Taiwan Fellowship and the Short Term Research Award, among others.

Taiwan-Belgium Relations

Political relationship

Taiwan and Belgium enjoy substantive exchanges in many fields and have set up Representative Offices respectively in Brussels and in Taipei. The Belgian government and people appreciate the vibrant democracy and economic strength of Taiwan. Belgium, in line with the EU’s policy, supports Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations.

The “Cercle de Parlementaires-Amis de Taiwan” was established by Belgian Members of Parliaments in December 1993. Each year, many Belgian MPs visit Taiwan, and vice versa. The Belgian Chamber of Representatives and the Senate adopted resolutions supporting Taiwan many times in the past years, with the latest one in July 2020.

Economic and trade relationship

Belgium is the fifth-largest trading partner of Taiwan among the EU countries, after Germany, the Netherlands, France, and Italy. In 2019, the total bilateral trade volume between Belgium and Taiwan amounted to 2.05 billion US dollars. To promote mutual investment and encourage the commercial activities, an agreement for the avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income was signed by both sides on October 13th 2004, in Brussels.

Scientific and Research Cooperation

FWO & FNRS: The Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan signed cooperation agreements respectively with the National Fund for Scientific Research (FWO & FNRS) of Belgium in 1985 and renewed the agreements in 2019. Both agreements provide funding to facilitate individual and institutional S&T exchanges through visits, joint research projects and thematic workshops between the two countries.

IMEC: MOST signed a cooperation agreement with the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (IMEC) in 1996 and renewed it in 2012 to expand the areas of collaboration, including the establishment of an R&D Centre in Taiwan in September 2010.

VIB: MOST signed a cooperation agreement with the Flemish Biotechnology Institute (VIB) in 2005 and renewed it in 2012 with several additional fields for enhancing cooperation.

Taiwan-Luxembourg Relations

Political relationship

Taiwan’s representative office in Luxembourg was closed in 2002. The function of this office was afterwards taken over by Taipei Representative Office in the EU and Belgium. The “Luxembourg Trade and Investment Office, Taipei” was established in October 2009.

In recent years, the substantive cooperation between Taiwan and Luxembourg in various fields has yielded concrete results. The Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital was signed on 19 December 2011. Other agreements and MoUs on issues such as financial oversight, stock exchanges, education, aviation, and working holidays have also been signed.

Economy and trade relationship

Taiwan enjoys close financial cooperation with Luxembourg. The latest statistics as of December 2019 indicate that 77.3% of approved offshore funds sold in Taiwan are registered in Luxembourg. In terms of trade in goods, Taiwan’s bilateral trade volume with Luxembourg in 2019 amounted to 46.1 million US dollars. China Airlines, a Taiwanese airway company, has chosen Luxembourg as its main cargo transit center in Europe, and ships Taiwanese products to many countries on the continent. Luxembourg is the gateway for Taiwanese products to Europe, and China Airlines is collaborating very closely with Cargolux. Luxembourg plays a role no less important than Frankfurt or Amsterdam for Taiwan’s cargo shipment to Europe. Besides, the annual bilateral Taiwan-Luxembourg Joint Business Council Meeting is a platform for Taiwanese and Luxembourg-based companies to further strengthen existing business contacts and to explore new opportunities in trade, investment and research cooperation. The 12th Taiwan-Luxembourg Joint Business Council Meeting was held on 19 July 2019 in Taipei.