Taiwan Seeks EU Trade Deal Progress Under the Bloc’s Incoming French Presidency

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and François de Rugy, head of the France–Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group, attend a meeting at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Taiwan, on Dec. 16, 2021. Taiwan Presidential Office/Handout via Reuters

Taiwan hopes for stronger trade ties with the European Union when France takes over the bloc’s rotating presidency in the first half of next year, President Tsai Ing-wen told visiting French lawmakers on Dec. 16.

A six-member French delegation arrived in Taiwan on Dec. 15 for a five-day visit, the second one this year following a visit in October. The leader of the delegation, François de Rugy, is also the head of the Taiwan Friendship Group in the National Assembly, the lower house of France’s Parliament.