According to an article titled "Europe Doubles Down on Taiwan" published on November 8 on the website of the bimonthly magazine Foreign Policy, the author is Benner Sosten, founder and director of the German Institute for Global Public Policy. The full text is excerpted below:
Last week, an "official delegation" of meps from the European Parliament arrived in Taiwan for the first time ever.
These unprecedented visits are a sign of a major shift in European Policy towards Taiwan, driven by the European Parliament and some member states, increasingly supported by the European Commission and the EU External Action Agency.
Last month, the European Parliament adopted a "comprehensive blueprint" for strengthening relations with Taiwan, calling for a "comprehensively strengthened partnership."
Many in the European Commission and the External Action Agency have been skeptical about strengthening relations with Taiwan, fearing to annoy Beijing. However, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrelli, and the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Margaret Vestag, both supported the European Parliament's document on Taiwan.
This is a major victory for key figures in the European Parliament, led by veteran German lawmaker Reinhard Bitikovel, who advocate a change in Policy toward Taiwan. They believe that the document is fully in line with the European one-China policy framework. They do not advocate "Taiwan independence," but advocate the so-called "defense" of the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.
Economic factors are also driving the deepening of bilateral relations. With a population of about 24 million, Taiwan is a big market. More importantly, Taiwan has a high-tech industrial base that offers many opportunities for economic and scientific cooperation. TSMC alone accounts for more than 50% of the world's advanced chip production. Borely and Vestag argue that "Taiwan is an important partner in achieving the goals of the European chip law," which seeks to increase Europe's share of the entire chip value chain.
The challenge now is for member states to come together to support the new Brussels consensus on Taiwan, while ensuring that Europe is prepared to respond "uniformly decisively" to China's tough moves on Taiwan.
Source: Informational messages