Taipei, Nov. 25 (CNA) Taiwan's inclusion in the European Union's visa-waiver program cleared the last hurdle Thursday in the Council of the European Union in Brussels and will take effect in January 2011, Foreign Minister Timothy C.T. Yang said late Thursday.
"The visa-free proposal was approved unanimously by acceptance without discussion earlier in the Council of the European Union. This is a great news we all have been waiting for, " Yang said at a press conference.
The proposal cleared the Competitiveness Council after Taiwan worked hard to move the agenda forward by a week, as it was originally scheduled for Dec. 2 at a session of the Justice and Home Affairs Council.
Addressing the issue, Yang told reporters that "since the proposal is expected to be approved without any debate, it doesn't matter which council screens it."
Having completed the 15-step procedure, the proposal should be able to be signed by the European Parliament speaker and rotating EU President in Dec. 15 and take effect in January next year, ensuring Taiwanese passport holders will be able to visit 35 European countries visa-free, Yang said.
The visa waiver means that Taiwan passport holders will be able to enter the European countries included in the program visa-free and stay for up to 90 days within a six-month period.
The exemption will apply to 25 Schengen Area countries, comprising 22 EU member states and three-non EU states -- Norway, Iceland and Switzerland -- and three non-Schengen EU member states -- Romania, Bulgaria and Cyprus.
The program will also apply to seven European countries and territories, including the Vatican, Monaco, Andorra, Liechtenstein, San Marino, Greenland and the Faroe Islands, to bring the number of European countries that grant Taiwan visa-free exemption to 35.
The visa-waiver drive, which aimed to boost the number of countries that grant Taiwan such privilege to 100, has been the Foreign Ministry's top priority to celebrate the Republic of China's centennial anniversary.
The total number of such countries has now reached 96, including 75 granting Taiwan passport holders visa-waiver privilege and 21 providing Taiwanese visitors with visas on arrival.
Taiwan will be exploring visa-free opportunities in countries such as the United States, Australia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Myanmar, the Philippines and 18 oversea territories of the United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands, according to Yang.
Yang said Taiwan will also keep seeking visa exemptions in six European countries -- Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.
The proposal previously cleared the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) by a 47-1 vote on Oct. 26 and the European Parliament plenary by a 559-40 margin with 13 abstentions on Nov. 11.
The exemption came three days after Canada granted Taiwan the same privilege Monday. The ministry said that the EU and Canada exemptions would save Taiwan nationals visa application fee of around NT$1.5 billion every year, including more than NT$ 1 billion for the Schengen visas and NT$450 million for Canadian visas.
An average of 310,000 Taiwan nationals visit Europe every year, according to the MOFA. (By Chris Wang) enditem/sc