The visa-free entry to the Schengen Area granted to citizens of the Republic of China earlier this week will “boost” the already good relationship between Taiwan and the EU in various sectors, European Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmstrom said in a press release yesterday.
“Waiving the visa obligation for Taiwan will facilitate people to people contacts, enhance business opportunities and give the possibility for them to get to know the EU better,” Malmstrom said.
The comment came after the European Commission for Home Affairs’ proposal in June to add Taiwan to the list of visa-waiver countries was adopted on Thursday by the Council of the EU, the final step toward visa exemption.
The adoption brought Taiwan into a select group of countries in Asia including Japan, South Korea and Singapore, whose nationals do not need a visa to travel to the EU.
“Today’s decision is the result of intensive and hard work for the authorities and the people of Taiwan in meeting the criteria requested to lift the visa obligation. I congratulate them for the great efforts made and the important results achieved,” Malmstrom said.
The European Commission said the inclusion of Taiwan in the list was also a response to the political support expressed by member states and would strengthen the coherence of EU policies in the region.
It expected to see the number of Taiwanese visitors to the EU increase by at least 30 percent because of the visa-free regime. Last year, more than 175,000 Schengen visas were issued in Taiwan.
Meanwhile, the European Parliament said in a statement that Taiwan’s lack of official status had not hampered its chances of obtaining visa exemption.
“The visa waiver is implemented despite the fact that the EU does not recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state and has no diplomatic or formal relations with Taiwan. However, the EU has developed regular contacts and cooperation in economic, trade, research, science and technology, education and culture, as well as environmental issues with the Taiwanese authorities,” it said.
It is also expected that granting Taiwanese visa-free access to the EU would have a positive cultural and economic impact on EU-Taiwanese relations.
Based on the principle of reciprocal treatment, Taiwan has lifted visa requirements for citizens of Bulgaria, Cyprus and Romania, the last three Schengen members whose citizens still required a visa to enter Taiwan.
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