The EU included Taiwan on its list of trade partners for a potential bilateral investment agreement in 2015, the year before Tsai became Taiwan's president, but it has not held talks with Taiwan on the issue since.
Meeting a delegation from the European Parliament's Committee on International Trade, Tsai said Taiwan and the EU should build a "resilient democratic alliance". Delegation leader Anna-Michelle Asimakopoulou told Tsai that the EU and Taiwan shared common values like democracy and human rights.