The European Parliament overwhelmingly voted in favor of Taiwan’s inclusion on its Schengen visa-free list yesterday, edging the country one step closer to enjoying visa-exemption privileges in the EU.
A total of 550 members out of the 612 members in the European Parliament present at the plenary session voted for the proposal, 40 voted against and 13 abstained, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said last night.
The exemption proposal will now proceed to the Justice and Home Affairs Council (JHA) of the EU Council for approval, a meeting scheduled for Dec. 2 and Dec. 3.
“The Republic of China [ROC] sincerely appreciates the European Parliament voting to grant our citizens Schengen visa-waiver status, a proposal MOFA has been actively working on for many years and hopes that the EU Council adopts the proposal by the end of the year,” MOFA spokesman James Chang (章計平) said.
If the JHA votes in support of the proposal, Taiwanese holding ROC passports will be able to travel to 28 European countries for short stays of up to 90 days free from visa obligations, effective 20 days after the JHA resolution is promulgated in the Official Journal of the European Union.
The 28 countries include 22 EU member states plus Romania, Bulgaria and Cyprus, three countries not yet part of the Schengen area, but which maintain the same visa policy as that in the Schengen Agreement, along with three non-EU member states — Norway, Switzerland and Iceland.
ROC passport holders are also entitled to visa-free entry in the UK and Ireland.
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