President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) met with a group of European Parliament members on Tuesday. The delegation included Reinis Pozņaks, Beatrice Timgren, and European Parliament Policy Advisor Jens Vornøe.
President Lai noted that in April, the European Parliament passed two resolutions of its annual reports on the implementation of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP). The reports have affirmed the European Parliament's stance on maintaining the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.
Lai says the European Parliament stresses Taiwan’s role as a key democratic partner in the Asia-Pacific, and calls on the EU and its member states to strengthen cooperation with Taiwan by deepening economic ties. Lai expresses hope that Taiwan and the EU will deepen their collaboration to build a more resilient democratic supply chain and contribute to the advancement of global democracy.
Pozņaks says that both Latvia and Taiwan face threats from their respective neighbors, and he expressed deep empathy with the Taiwanese people. He adds that the world today is full of challenges and calls on all democratic countries to unite and cooperate to defend freedom and democracy, and to uphold a world governed by the rule of law.
Timgren says that democratic countries have learned a lesson from the Russo-Ukrainian war and have stood up to support Ukraine, thereby weakening Russia’s ability to wage war. He adds that democracies should support one another and strengthen their ties in order to demonstrate solidarity and better defend themselves against threats from China and Russia.