Activities of Michael GAHLER related to 2021/2041(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
EU-Taiwan political relations and cooperation (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on a European Parliament recommendation to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on EU-Taiwan political relations and cooperation
Amendments (28)
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 a (new)
Citation 10 a (new)
— having regard to the June 2020 Joint Communication‘ Tackling COVID- 19 disinformation – Getting the facts right’,
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 b (new)
Citation 10 b (new)
— having regard to the 16 April Council Conclusion on an EU Strategy for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific,
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 c (new)
Citation 10 c (new)
— having regard to the 5 May statement by G7 Foreign and Development Ministers,
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas China’s continued military belligerence against Taiwan poses a grave threat to the status quo between Taiwan and China, as well as to the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region, which is a region that strongly matters to the EU both because of the many close partners in the region, but also given the overseas territory of one of its members, France, in the region;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas Taiwan’s efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus have proven to be among the most effective in the world, and have contributed to numerous international studies which itself contributed to stronger protection of people all around the world;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point a
Paragraph 1 – point a
(a) works closely with the Member States to upgrade EU-Taiwan political relations and to elevate them to a comprehensive and enhanced partnership with the official signing of a respective agreement, considers Taiwan a key partner and democratic ally in the Indo- Pacific on its own merit as a robust democracy and technologically advanced economy, that would support the EU’s geopolitical ambition in the region as well as contribute to maintaining a rules-based order in the midst of an intensifying great power rivalry;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b
Paragraph 1 – point b
(b) prepares an impact assessment on a Bilateral Investment Agreement (BIA) with Taiwan before the end of 2021 in preparation for negotiations to deepen bilateral economic ties believes that such a BIA would lead to an easing of “own content” requirements by European investors and producers in Taiwan; encourages Taiwan to increase investments inside the EU, notably when it comes to the development and production of semiconductors;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b
Paragraph 1 – point b
(b) preparesstart an impact assessment, public consultation and scoping exercise on a Bilateral Investment Agreement (BIA) with Taiwan before the end of 2021 in preparation for negotiations to deepen bilateral economic ties;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point c
Paragraph 1 – point c
(c) expresses grave concern over China’'s continued military belligerence against Taiwan; notably through China's considerable investment in military capabilities, by conducting assault exercises and frequent air violations of Taiwan’s air and maritime defence identification zone, which are motivated by the long-term goal of a, if need be even forceful, unification of Taiwan and mainland China; furthermore calls out the sharp Chinese rhetoric signalling its seemingly contradictory intention of wanting to incorporate Taiwan under communist rule, while at the same time claiming to pursue a peaceful development of relations with Taiwan; urges China to desist from any destabilising activities against Taiwan, and insists that any change to cross-strait relations must not be made against the will of Taiwanese citizens; urges the Commission to take a proactive role in working with like-minded international partners, including but not limited to the United States, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, to safeguard peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and to sustain democracy in Taiwan;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point c a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point c a (new)
(ca) recalls that maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific is a core interest for the EU and its Member States; stresses that a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait would not only bear significant economic disruptions affecting European interests but would also seriously undermine the rules-based order in the region, as well as democratic governance with human rights, democracy and rule of law at the core;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d
Paragraph 1 – point d
(d) strongly advocates for Taiwan’s full participation as an observer in meetings, mechanisms and activities of international bodies, including the World Health Organization, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), urges Member States and the EU institutions to support international initiatives calling for Taiwan’s participation in international organisations; welcomes again Taiwan’s proactive cooperation with the international community when it came to learning about the Covid-19 pandemic and finding best ways to answer to it, and believes that this case has proven that Taiwan’s full membership in the WHO would be an added-value to the health and well-being of the citizens of all its members;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point e
Paragraph 1 – point e
(e) encourages increased official exchanges, meetings and cooperation between the EU and Taiwan, including at the highest levels and with the participation of representatives of Member States, so as to fully reflect the dynamic, multi-faceted and close cooperation between the EU and Taiwan as like-minded partners;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point f
Paragraph 1 – point f
(f) includes Taiwan as an important EU partner and regional economic power in the upcoming Indo-Pacific Strategy currently being prepared by the EEAS, urges that through its Indo-Pacific Strategy the EU work closely with other like-minded partners to address China’s assertive posture in the region, and to strengthen the rules-based order, given its own economic interests in the region;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point g
Paragraph 1 – point g
(g) continues to adopt initiatives to enhance bilateral economic relations and people-to-people contacts, including in academia and civil society, as well as city- to-city and region-to-region partnerships; commends existing sister city partnerships between European and Taiwanese cities and encourages city diplomacy as a tool to help Taiwan’s participation in international initiatives which would enable Taiwan to bypass attempts from China to further increase its diplomatic isolation;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point g a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point g a (new)
(ga) encourages the EU and Member States to help raise awareness in Europe about the situation in the Taiwan Strait, as well as the complexity of Taiwan- China relations through the establishment and funding of dedicated programmes and research targeting society at large; underlines the importance of investing in an inclusive debate across EU Member States, explaining to the European public the risks of an authoritarian advance in the Indo-Pacific manifested through China’s assertive posture and its efforts to undermine democracy, in particular in Taiwan, and the implications that leaving such threats unaddressed would entail for democracies across the globe;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point h
Paragraph 1 – point h
(h) encourages dialogue and cooperation with Taiwan in all industrial sectors and supply chains, in particular emerging industries and industries of strategic importance such as electronic vehicles, robotics and smart manufacturing, as well as semiconductor technologies; acknowledges Taiwan’s central role in strategic industries such as the fifth generation of communication infrastructure (5G),being home to the world’s largest foundry and go-to producer of semiconductors; stresses that in the future microchips will play a central role in shaping the future of the global order and the country in control of the design and manufacturing of microchips will be leading in setting the course for the 21stcentury; recalls that the disruption in global supply chains caused by the pandemic has put Taiwan at the centre stage of the technological drive, and has also made the EU realise its own vulnerabilities highlighting the urgency to reflect on reducing its dependencies on external actors; urges therefore increased cooperation with Taiwan to support the EU’s agenda concerning its green and digital transition, as well as the EU’s efforts toward diversification of value and supply chains as the pandemic accelerated demands for both, highlighting the need for increased investment and political support, in particular in value chains of strategic importance, such as microelectronics, autonomous driving, AI, which are areas where Taiwan plays a central role;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point i
Paragraph 1 – point i
(i) supports a further strengthening of initiatives allowing the EU to engage in partnerships with Taiwan in the fields of ICT, biotech, health and connectivity;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point j
Paragraph 1 – point j
(j) encourages the EU and Member States to deepen cooperation with Taiwan in confronting disinformation from malign third countries, including the sharing of best-practices, by learning from Taiwan’s experience of fighting disinformation coming from the mainland that target Taiwan’s media independence by using social media platforms, infiltrating Taiwanese television and print media to influence public opinion, seeking to undermine elections in Taiwan; commends that Taiwan considers media literacy a useful and vital tool to educate people on identifying disinformation and has therefore incorporated media literacy into the school curriculum;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point j a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point j a (new)
(ja) stresses that the benefits of Taiwan’s efforts to fight disinformation and combat fake news goes beyond Taiwan, influencing not only its society on the island, but also the Chinese speaking community in Hong Kong and other South East Asian countries;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point j b (new)
Paragraph 1 – point j b (new)
(jb) condemns attempts from China to discredit the Taiwanese government’s handling of the pandemic; commends Taiwan’s effective bottom-up approach, led by its citizens, to fact-check news and information using technology, such as Artificial Intelligence to scale up efforts and enable fact-checkers to identify the most harmful claims circulating on social media platforms and thus stop their spread;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point j c (new)
Paragraph 1 – point j c (new)
(jc) recalls that the threat Taiwan faces through China’s disinformation operations is part of a larger problem facing democracies across the globe in an era where communication technologies are central to the geopolitical competition for global leadership; recalls that China, along with Russia, remains an important threat also to democracies inside Europe through the application of disinformation campaigns, a threat that has significantly increased with the pandemic, as the 2020 June EEAS report noted; notes that cooperation in the fight against disinformation is therefore in the interest of both the EU and Taiwan;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point k
Paragraph 1 – point k
(k) further promotes the existing EU- Taiwan R&I collaboration in the Horizon Europe Framework Programme (2021- 2027), urges a higher participation of Taiwanese researchers in the future in the context of Horizon Europe;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point m
Paragraph 1 – point m
(m) changes the name of the European Economic and Trade Office in Taiwan to ‘European Union Office in Taipeiwan’ in order to reflect the broad scope of our ties;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point n
Paragraph 1 – point n
(n) commends Taiwan as an outstanding partner in promoting human rights and freedom of religion in the Indo- Pacific region; acknowledges Taiwan’s performance in setting an example in the region with its strong record of respect of fundamental freedoms, both economic and social, as well as political and cultural rights, including its passing of same sex legislation, the first of its kind in the region, and in the field of the rights of indigenous communities; requests the EU Special Representative for Human Rights to participate in international human rights conventions in Taiwan and to take concrete actions to work with Taiwan to advance human rights and religious freedom, the digital economy and sustainable growth of the developing countries in the Indo- Pacific region;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point o
Paragraph 1 – point o
(o) strengthens cooperation with Taiwan with a view to exchanging best practices in handling the COVID-19 pandemic and continuing to enhance the EU’s cooperation with Taiwan in health and communicable disease control; commends the Taiwanese government and its people for their relatively successful containment of the pandemic domestically and for their generosity in extending help to other countries; recalls that Taiwan’s effective response relied on transparency and openness and the use of technology in collaboration with society, an approach rooted in public trust;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point p
Paragraph 1 – point p
(p) commends Taiwan’s acts of solidarity with the EU, as demonstrated by the donation of over 7 million surgical masks to several Member States during the dire early months of the pandemic;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point q a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point q a (new)
(qa) commends the organisation of the first ever European Investment Forum in Taiwan in September 2020, and encourages more bilateral investment in both directions; urges the increase of such investment in particular in the area of industries where Taiwan leads, namely critical technologies including semiconductors, which would support the EU’s efforts to strengthen its own capacity on microelectronics; notes that following the 2020 Taiwan-EU Dialogue on Digital Economy, the EU and Taiwan should further build on their discussions in the field of research and technology cooperation, blockchain, AI, cybersecurity certification, data economy and digital connectivity, in order to identify further synergies, expand policy exchange on digital economy development, and establish greater partnerships;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point q b (new)
Paragraph 1 – point q b (new)
(qb) urges furthermore the EU to work together with other like-minded partners, such as Australia, New Zealand, India, Japan, South Korea and the United States, and consider inviting Taiwan into existing platforms and working groups in the field of critical industries with its partners;