EU lawmakers back Lithuania amid tensions with China
Sep 06, 2021
Brussels [Belgium], September 6 : Members of the European Parliament extended support for Lithuania on Friday after its decision to enhance ties with Taiwan despite threats from China, reported Focus Taiwan.
More than 60 members of the European Parliament voiced their support for Lithuania through an open letter.
Members of the European Parliament including Petras Austrevicius from Lithuania, Reinhard Butikofer from Germany and members from 20 countries and five different political groups expressed their solidarity with the Baltic state of Lithuania and Taiwan by initiating an open letter, at a time of growing threats from China, reported Focus Taiwan
"The EU must continue to reiterate the right of all its Member States to conduct their economic, cultural and diplomatic relations with Taiwan as they see fit, and to do so free from threats and intimidation by the Chinese government. Taiwan has a vital role to play in the international community," the letter read.
In July, Lithuania announced it would open a representative office in Taiwan right after Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said Taipei will open a representative office and name it "The Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania," in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.
Earlier in August, Lithuania's vice foreign minister Mantas Adomenas said in an interview with CNA that his country will open the office by the end of this year and send a vice minister-level official from its foreign ministry or economics ministry to the opening ceremony.
In the open letter, these European lawmakers urged the European Union and its member states to take a strong stance against coercive diplomatic threats from China.
The European lawmakers also called for the EU to take an effective anti-economic-coercion measure against China as soon as possible.
"With this letter, we want to assure our Lithuanian friends that we will not stop to work for broad EU solidarity vice versa the Chinese government's punitive measures against them. Europe must stand united and defend our shared values," Butikofer said in a statement.
On Wednesday, the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee passed a report titled 'EU-Taiwan Relations and Cooperation' and related amendments to enhance the ties between the EU and Taiwan.
