Taiwan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Joseph Wu, met with the new chief of the European Economic and Trade Office (EETO), Lutz Güllner, expressing hope for the European Union to refer to the Taiwan-UK model and sign an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with Taiwan.
Lutz Güllner took office on September 1, replacing his predecessor Filip Grzegorzewski, who left his position at the end of July.
Joseph Wu, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China (Taiwan), posted on Facebook on October 1st, mentioning that during the meeting on September 30th, he praised Güllner for his dedication to deepening bilateral exchanges between Taiwan and the EU during his tenure as Director for External Affairs at the EU. He emphasized Güllner’s familiarity with Taiwan and expressed anticipation for further enhancement of Taiwan-EU exchanges under Güllner’s leadership at the EETO.
Wu mentioned that he had already conveyed to Güllner his expectation for the EU to emulate the model of the Taiwan-UK Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP) agreement when discussing the establishment of a factory by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) in Germany. This is aimed at facilitating the signing of an EPA between Taiwan and the EU to safeguard the investment interests of Taiwanese businesses.
Furthermore, Wu expressed his anticipation for enhanced exchanges between Taiwan and European countries in the areas of the “Five Trust Industries” proposed by President Tsai Ing-wen, as well as in fields such as smart cities, cybersecurity, and machine tools. Güllner took advantage of his time in Taiwan to explore the island from north to south, experiencing its beautiful landscapes and natural scenery.
The European Economic and Trade Office posted on Facebook that Güllner met with Wu to discuss EU-Taiwan relations, expressing the hope to continue maintaining friendly relations and close cooperation with Taiwan on the basis of shared values such as democracy, human rights, and rule of law.