Speeches

Mr President, we must support the upgrading of political cooperation and the deepening of economic cooperation with Taiwan for three reasons in my view: firstly, Taiwan has a highly dynamic economy and has proven to be a fully reliable partner of the European Union; secondly, its economy has qualitative characteristics in research, innovation and the digital transition that show us where we need to focus our cooperation to fill our own shortages; thirdly, with democracy and the rule of law, Taiwan is sending the right signals to a region of great strategic importance, where the democratic model of political organisation is being challenged by some. Our initiative, of course, is neither Euro-NATO nor Euro-American. It is based on European strategic autonomy and European calculations. That is why, in my opinion, it is of special importance.