Last week, ALDE Party welcomed Laia Comerma Calatayud as the inaugural Hans van Baalen Fellow on EU-Taiwan Relations. 

Laia was selected in October as the recipient of the Scholarship in memoriam of van Baalen, ALDE Party’s late former President, a staunch supporter of Taiwanese freedom and democracy.  

She will work with ALDE Party’s Research and Empowerment Unit and assist ALDE Party’s political foundation, the European Liberal Forum. 

Laia is born and raised in Barcelona, Spain, where she is currently completing a PhD in Political Science at the Pompeu Fabra University. Previously, she studied International Relations at the London School of Economics and worked at the EU’s delegation to Hong Kong and Macao.  

“I am honoured to be the inaugural Hans van Baalen scholar and remember his memory by promoting the relationship between the EU and Taiwan,” she said. 

“The geopolitical situation around Taiwan is extremely complicated, and we need to promote a better understanding of its history, identity and relationship with China if we want to promote a more comprehensive economic and political relationship between the EU and Taiwan, and support its democracy and freedom.” 

Welcome Laia!