Estonia: MEP Paet calls for closer economic ties with Taiwan

Estonia should prioritise trade with free democratic societies, where the political risk is smallest, Estonian MEP Urmas Paet (Reform/Renew Europe), deputy chairman of the European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee, argues. Writing in an opinion piece for ERR, Paet criticised Estonia’s state-run export promotion agency, Enterprise Estonia, for advocating closer economic ties with Vietnam, which has an authoritarian communist regime. He called for attracting investments from and boosting trade with Taiwan, which he said shared the same values as the EU. Paet pointed out that EU-based businesses were the biggest foreign investors in Taiwan. Moreover, he stressed that China’s attitude should not influence Estonia’s economic ties with Taiwan.