The European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan (ECCT) is ready to support Taiwan to boost the resilience of the economy as well as tackle social challenges. In his speech at the chamber’s annual Europe Day Dinner, ECCT chairman Giuseppe Izzo said that the ECCT is committed to helping Taiwan to strengthen its resilience in the areas of energy security, electric vehicles, digitalisation, population sustainability, healthcare and food security, among others.

At the dinner, speeches were also delivered by ROC President Tsai Ying-wen and Filip Grzegorzewski, Head of the European Union’s (EU) European Economic and Trade Office (EETO). The event was also attended by a record-breaking 750 guests, including senior government officials and executives from European and Taiwanese multinational companies. The annual dinner is held to celebrate Europe Day, the anniversary of the Schuman Declaration in 1950, which ultimately led to the formation of today’s European Union.

In his speech, Chairman Izzo noted that Taiwan’s energy security is vulnerable due to a dependence on fossil fuels, a lack of renewable energy, storage facilities for natural gas and insufficient grid infrastructure. The ECCT has consistently advocated that transitioning to renewable energy sources is the best way to increase Taiwan’s energy security and independence. However, Taiwan is falling behind in reaching its own renewable energy targets.

“While Taiwan has been a leader in Asian offshore wind and creating a flourishing supply, the highly restrictive local content requirements are slowing down progress and making projects more expensive, putting this leadership at risk. Taiwan must remain an attractive designation for international investment in an offshore market that is booming globally,” he said. In addition, the permitting process remains overly complicated. For example, the industry was caught by surprise when Environmental Impact Assessment requirements for onshore wind were increased from 250 to 500 metres, affecting an estimated 50% of onshore projects currently under development, which is further adding to project permitting uncertainties for developers and delaying the supply of affordable green energy that Taiwan’s SME’s so urgently need. “This shows a clear disconnect between ambitions to achieve energy security and net zero and the policies and procedures that are supposed to enable them,” he said.

To strengthen energy resilience, in addition to existing solar, hydro and wind energy technologies, the chairman said that Taiwan should take full advantage of the great potential in geothermal energy, floating offshore wind and the use of green hydrogen. To ensure a sufficient and resilient grid infrastructure, the grid and energy storage build-out needs to be completed in sync with when renewable capacity comes online.

The transition to electric vehicles will increase resilience in transport but needs the government’s support in building charging infrastructure in the form of subsidies and reform of existing building and land use regulations. Izzo noted that ECCT members are actively involved and committed to Taiwan’s energy transition but need the government’s help to take all the steps necessary to remove impediments and prioritise the build-out of renewable energy.

In addition to the energy transition, the chairman offered the chamber’s assistance to the administration in accelerating digital and net-zero transformations to ensure the competitive strengths and sustainable developments of Taiwan and its industries. “We’d all agree that only the countries and companies that are able to rapidly and intelligently seize opportunities and respond to the challenges in the course of these transformations will eventually emerge as the winners. As Taiwan’s trusted technology partners, European companies are committed to deploy the essential technologies faster together with your administration,” he said.

On the question of demographics, Izzo said that Taiwan’s future development will only be possible with a sustainable and resilient population but that Taiwan has one of world’s lowest birth rates and is on track to become a super-aged society by 2025, which will have profound consequences for society and the economy as the workforce decreases and the number of ageing dependents increases. The chairman stressed that while there is no silver bullet, addressing the many challenges will take coordinated efforts among stakeholders. The ECCT is ready to help and recently set up the Family Friendly Alliance to work with the government, corporations and NGOs to share ideas and best practices and policies designed to support a sustainable population, economic and social development in Taiwan. The FFA has already hosted a summit featuring government and industry experts and released the results of a survey with recommendations on how to improve the family friendliness of workplaces.

To maintain a sustainable workforce requires not just addressing demographic issues but also immigration and labour law issues, especially since Taiwan is in competition with countries across the globe for talent.

According to the chairman, Taiwan’s Employment Gold Card scheme has attracted a diverse and talented group of people to live and work in Taiwan. However, the qualifications to enter the programme are overly strict. Taiwan also faces a shortage of workers in the hospitality and other service industries, but employers are restricted from hiring foreign labourers. The ECCT therefore recommends relaxing the relevant restrictions in order to attract a larger and more diverse range of foreign talent and labourers from Europe, the Americas and elsewhere in Asia.

The chairman also called for labour law reforms that create modern regulations which meet the needs of today’s society, striking the right balance between providing both flexibility and protection to workers.

A resilient society needs a healthy population. Taiwan has one of the world’s most comprehensive and efficient healthcare systems that is popular with users and praised internationally. But doctors and nurses are overworked and many new medicines and treatments are not covered. Critical health outcomes, such as life expectancy, cancer survival rate and infant mortality are falling behind other advanced economies. The system will come under increasing strain as the population ages and the workforce declines. To increase resilience, the chairman said that Taiwan will need to spend a little more on healthcare now and into the future.

Izzo remarked that the ECCT welcomed increased cooperation between Taiwan and European countries over the past year, but that more could be done to encourage international cooperation and investments in Europe, in partnership with European countries and companies in the fields of technology, AI, digitalisation and cybersecurity.

Finally, as a major food importer, the chairman said that it does not make sense for Taiwan to maintain restrictions and complex red tape requirements for food imports from the EU, a single market with the world’s most robust standards for food safety. Many of the European food products currently being restricted are specialty foods that do not directly compete with local production. Resolving bilateral food trade issues would increase Taiwan’s food security, and also benefit farmers, food producers and consumers in both Taiwan and Europe.

The chairman concluded by saying that ECCT members remain committed to doing their part to keep the Taiwan miracle going and helping Taiwan to further strengthen its resilience now and into the future.

歐洲商會協助臺灣全方位強化韌性

歐洲商會（ECCT）於今日舉辦一年一度的歐洲日晚宴，旨在支持台灣提升經濟韌性並應對社會挑戰。歐洲商會理事長尹容（Giuseppe Izzo）在晚宴上表示，商會將全力協助台灣在能源安全、電動車、數位化、人口可持續性、醫療保健和食品安全等領域增強韌性能力。

中華民國總統蔡英文與歐盟駐台經貿辦事處處長高哲夫（Filip Grzegorzewski）在晚宴上發表了演講。這個年度晚宴吸引了來自歐洲和台灣跨國公司的高級政府官員和執行官等750名嘉賓出席。該活動旨在慶祝歐洲日，紀念1950年舒曼宣言的成立，這一宣言最終促成了現今的歐洲聯盟。

理事長尹容在演講中指出，台灣的能源安全太脆弱，這是由於過度依賴化石燃料、缺乏可再生能源、天然氣儲存設施不足和電網基礎設施不夠完善所致。作為解決方案，歐洲商會一直呼籲台灣轉向可再生能源，這是提升能源安全和獨立性的最佳途徑。然而，台灣在實現自身可再生能源目標方面進展緩慢。

理事長指出：「儘管台灣在亞洲風力發電和建立繁榮供應鏈方面一直引領潮流，但嚴格的本土零組件限制，減緩了進展，並使成本變得更加昂貴，這使得台灣在這一領域的領先地位面臨風險。台灣必須持續成為全球離岸風電市場中吸引國際投資首選之地。」 同時，許可流程過於複雜。舉例而言，陸域風電的環境影響評估要求從250公尺提高至500公尺，對目前約50%正在開發中的陸域風電項目造成影響，進一步加增了開發商在項目許可方面的不確定性，並延誤了台灣中小企業迫切需要的綠色能源供應。尹容理事長特別強調：「這顯示出實現能源安全和零碳目標的野心與支持其實現的政策和程序之間存在明顯脫節。」

為了增強能源韌性，尹容理事長提到，除了現有的太陽能、水力和風力發電技術外，台灣應充分利用地熱能、浮動式離岸風電和綠色氫能的巨大潛力。為確保足夠和韌性的電網基礎設施，電網和能源儲存的建設必須與可再生能源容量上線的時間同步進行。

理事長指出，推動電動車轉型將增強交通運輸的韌性，然而，政府需要在充電基礎設施建設方面提供補貼並改革現有的建築和土地利用規定，以支持這一轉型。他提到，歐洲商會成員積極參與並致力於台灣的能源轉型，但需要政府的幫助，採取一切必要的措施，消除阻礙，並優先推進可再生能源的建設。

除了能源轉型外，理事長表示，商會十分樂意協助政府加速數位化和零碳轉型，以確保台灣及其產業在競爭中保持優勢並實現可持續發展。他強調：「我們都認同，在這些轉型過程中，只有那些能夠迅速、明智地抓住機遇並應對挑戰的國家和企業最終才能獲得成功。作為台灣值得信賴的技術合作夥伴，歐洲企業承諾與政府攜手合作，更快地推動必要的技術部署。」

在人口議題上，理事長指出，台灣未來的發展必須建立在可持續且具有韌性的人口結構基礎上。然而，台灣的生育率居世界之末，預計到2025年，台灣將步入超高齡社會，隨著勞動力減少和老年依賴人口增加，這將對社會和經濟產生深遠的影響。理事長強調，雖然沒有萬全之策，但應對這些挑戰需要各利害關係者協同努力。為此，歐洲商會成立了「友善家庭聯盟」，旨在與政府、企業和非政府組織合作，分享理念、最佳實踐和相關政策，以支持台灣的可持續人口、經濟和社會發展。該聯盟已舉辦一次峰會，邀請政府和業界專家參與，並公布了一份調查報告，提出了改善職場親子友善性的建議。歐洲商會願意提供協助，希望透過合作，共同推動台灣在人口議題上的可持續發展。

為了維持可持續的勞動力，台灣不僅需要應對人口議題，還需關注移民和勞動法等相關議題，尤其考慮到在全球範圍內與其他國家競爭人才的情況。

根據理事長的觀點，台灣的「就業金卡」計畫已吸引了各具才華的人才前來居住和工作。然而，進入該計畫的資格過於嚴格。此外，台灣在餐飲和其他服務行業面臨著勞動力短缺的問題，但僱主受到雇用外籍勞工的限制。因此，歐洲商會建議放寬相關限制，以吸引來自歐洲、美洲和亞洲其他地區的更多多樣化外籍人才和勞工來台灣。

理事長同時呼籲進行勞動法改革，創建符合當今社會需求的現代法規，平衡提供工人靈活性和保護的需求。

理事長進一步指出，要建立一個具有韌性的社會，人口健康至關重要。台灣擁有全球最全面、高效的醫療保健系統，深受民眾歡迎並贏得國際讚譽。然而，醫生和護士的工作負荷過重，許多新藥和治療方式未能納入保障範圍。值得關注的是，台灣在壽命、癌症存活率和嬰兒死亡率等重要健康指標上，落後於其他先進經濟體。隨著人口老化和勞動力減少，醫療保健系統將面臨日益加劇的壓力。為了增強韌性，理事長強調台灣必須增加目前和未來在醫療保健領域的投資。

理事長表示，歐洲商會對台灣與歐洲國家之間的合作進展表示歡迎，並呼籲進一步加強在科技、人工智慧、數位化和網絡安全等領域的國際合作和對歐洲的投資。

同時，作為一個重要的食品進口國，理事長指出，台灣目前對歐盟食品進口的限制和繁瑣的行政要求缺乏合理性。歐盟擁有全球最嚴格的食品安全標準，許多受限制的歐洲特色食品並非台灣本地產品的對手。因此，解決雙邊食品貿易問題將有助於提升台灣的食品安全，同時造福台灣和歐洲的農民、食品生產商和消費者。

理事長最後強調，歐洲商會成員始終堅守承諾，積極參與台灣的發展，並致力於協助台灣進一步增強其韌性，以持續發展台灣奇蹟。