The European Parliament passed a resolution to freeze discussions on the China-EU Comprehensive Investment Agreement by a large margin at 2:30 p.m. local time Thursday (10:30 p.m. Hong Kong time Thursday), with 599 votes in favor, 30 votes against and 58 abstentions, demanding that the Chinese Communist Party must lift sanctions in order to move forward.
The European Parliament voted on a resolution entitled “Sanctions against EU entities and Members of the European Parliament by the Chinese Communist Party”, which had received cross-party support beforehand to counter the sanctions imposed by the Chinese Communist Party on a number of MEPs. The text of the resolution, released by the European Parliament on Wednesday (19), states that the Chinese Communist Party’s retaliatory sanctions have caused a regression in relations between Europe and China, and that the EU and all its institutions must unite to resist the Chinese Communist Party’s attacks on European democracy and defend common European values.
According to the resolution, the current EU-China strategy has shown its limits and the EU-China relationship cannot develop as it has in the past, given the Chinese Communist Party’s suppression of Uighurs and democracy in Hong Kong, coupled with the growing confrontation with Taiwan. In addition to calling on the European Commission to issue a statement condemning the sanctions imposed by the Chinese Communist Party on elected politicians, the resolution argues that the European Parliament needs to propose a freeze on the discussion of the China-EU Comprehensive Investment Agreement until the sanctions are lifted by the Chinese Communist Party. Since the agreement needs to be approved by the European Parliament, once the freeze is passed, it will affect the timetable for the agreement’s entry into force.
In addition, the resolution calls on the European Commission to consult with the European Parliament before taking relevant measures, and calls on the EU to strengthen coordination with the US on its China policy, and emphasizes that trade agreements between the EU and its regional partners, including Taiwan, should not be subject to the EU-China agreement, indicating that the European Parliament supports the negotiation of an investment agreement with Taiwan.
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