Head of European Economic and Trade Office in Taiwan talks about the strength of the "Unity in Diversity” of the European Union
To promote the knowledge of the European Union (EU), NSYSU European Union Centre invited the Head of the European Economic and Trade Office (EETO) in Taiwan, Mr. Filip Grzegorzewski, to give a talk on "The European Union: United in Diversity". Mr. Grzegorzewski, a Polish national, explained with a great sense of humor how the EU achieved peace and prosperity on the European continent thanks to its shared values, standards, close cooperation between member states, and how the EU will achieve its goals in the 21st century.
The EU is neither a fully federal system nor an intragovernmental cooperation system but an economic and political union of 27 member states, which decided to give up part of their sovereignty to build strength and unity. The EU's motto, exhibited in the title of the talk – "United in Diversity," reflects its shared values upon which the EU was founded: respect for human rights, dignity, liberty, democracy equality, and the rule of law. "These are also the values important to Taiwan," said Mr. Grzegorzewski, "and this is what makes you special in Asia."
Having achieved the longest period of peace and stability in Europe, the EU was recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012 "for advancing the causes of peace, reconciliation, democracy, and human rights in Europe," said Mr. Grzegorzewski. As the world’s largest humanitarian aid supplier and deploying civilian and military missions, the EU is also supporting other countries to help keep peace in many regions. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic situation, the EU established the "Team Europe" project to support the most vulnerable countries to deal with the disease and launched the Coronavirus Global Response to support research and development of vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics.
As the world’s largest single market with free flow of capital, labor, goods, services, and a 447 million population, the EU is a significant economic power, accounting for 18% of the global GDP and 16.3% of the world’s imports and exports. What is surprising, the largest foreign investor in Taiwan is not the USA, but the EU, accounting for 25% of all investments in Taiwan, said Mr. Grzegorzewski. "In Taiwan, we invest in offshore wind energy", which will help Taiwan become more resilient in energy supply. Developing Europe's offshore wind economy potential is part of the EU’s ambitious goal to become the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050. Based on the European Green Deal, the EU plans to achieve the goal by restoring biodiversity and boosting resource usage efficiency to achieve a clean circular economy.
After the talk, students actively engaged in the Q&A session. Students were interested in the EU’s solution to the refugee crisis, the EU's relations with China, and study opportunities in Europe.
The European Economic and Trade Office (EETO) in Taiwan aims to promote knowledge and information about the EU policies through diplomacy, dialogue, academic exchange, and people-to-people contacts. As the EU's highest representative in Taiwan, Mr. Grzegorzewski is a senior diplomat specializing in Asia, fluent in Mandarin, English, French, and Polish. He previously served as the Director-General of the Asia-Pacific Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland, and the Chair of the Council Working Group on Asia (COASI) in the European External Action Service.
The talk was organized by the European Union Centre (EU Centre), which was established in 2009 under the Office of International Affairs and aims at promoting the understanding of the European Union in education, academics, business, art and culture, and community service. It is one of the EU centers in a consortium formed by seven universities of Taiwan, founded under the European Commission's initiative to promote EU studies globally and facilitate academia and civil society exchange with its global partners.
The EU is neither a fully federal system nor an intragovernmental cooperation system but an economic and political union of 27 member states, which decided to give up part of their sovereignty to build strength and unity. The EU's motto, exhibited in the title of the talk – "United in Diversity," reflects its shared values upon which the EU was founded: respect for human rights, dignity, liberty, democracy equality, and the rule of law. "These are also the values important to Taiwan," said Mr. Grzegorzewski, "and this is what makes you special in Asia."
Having achieved the longest period of peace and stability in Europe, the EU was recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012 "for advancing the causes of peace, reconciliation, democracy, and human rights in Europe," said Mr. Grzegorzewski. As the world’s largest humanitarian aid supplier and deploying civilian and military missions, the EU is also supporting other countries to help keep peace in many regions. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic situation, the EU established the "Team Europe" project to support the most vulnerable countries to deal with the disease and launched the Coronavirus Global Response to support research and development of vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics.
As the world’s largest single market with free flow of capital, labor, goods, services, and a 447 million population, the EU is a significant economic power, accounting for 18% of the global GDP and 16.3% of the world’s imports and exports. What is surprising, the largest foreign investor in Taiwan is not the USA, but the EU, accounting for 25% of all investments in Taiwan, said Mr. Grzegorzewski. "In Taiwan, we invest in offshore wind energy", which will help Taiwan become more resilient in energy supply. Developing Europe's offshore wind economy potential is part of the EU’s ambitious goal to become the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050. Based on the European Green Deal, the EU plans to achieve the goal by restoring biodiversity and boosting resource usage efficiency to achieve a clean circular economy.
After the talk, students actively engaged in the Q&A session. Students were interested in the EU’s solution to the refugee crisis, the EU's relations with China, and study opportunities in Europe.
The European Economic and Trade Office (EETO) in Taiwan aims to promote knowledge and information about the EU policies through diplomacy, dialogue, academic exchange, and people-to-people contacts. As the EU's highest representative in Taiwan, Mr. Grzegorzewski is a senior diplomat specializing in Asia, fluent in Mandarin, English, French, and Polish. He previously served as the Director-General of the Asia-Pacific Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland, and the Chair of the Council Working Group on Asia (COASI) in the European External Action Service.
The talk was organized by the European Union Centre (EU Centre), which was established in 2009 under the Office of International Affairs and aims at promoting the understanding of the European Union in education, academics, business, art and culture, and community service. It is one of the EU centers in a consortium formed by seven universities of Taiwan, founded under the European Commission's initiative to promote EU studies globally and facilitate academia and civil society exchange with its global partners.
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