The visa-waiver status covers 22 European Union (EU) member states and four non-EU nations, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. It also applies to four EU countries that are not yet part of the Schengen Area, namely Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Romania, as well as Andorra, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican. Furthermore, due in large part to its inclusion in the regime, Taiwan has been able to secure visa-waiver access to a number of other European countries and regions, including five Balkan nations and 26 overseas territories belonging to Britain, France and the Netherlands. ROC citizens can now travel visa-free to 69 European nations and overseas territories, and a further 71 countries and regions across the globe.
The Schengen Area visa-waiver arrangement has helped facilitate the signing of a number of accords to promote people-to-people exchanges. Since 2011, Taiwan has concluded working holiday agreements with Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Ireland, Poland, Slovakia and the United Kingdom to add to its prior working holiday pact with Germany. These accords are fostering greater cross-cultural understanding between young people in Taiwan and Europe.
Governmental interactions have also benefited from the relaxation in visa requirements. Over the past four years, Taiwan has signed approximately 50 cooperation agreements with European nations in such areas as education, food safety, green energy, intellectual property, judicial affairs, health care, nuclear safety, and science and technology, while around 450 European politicians now visit Taiwan each year.
Furthermore, the visa-waiver arrangement is helping promote the development of trade and investment links between Taiwan and the EU. Statistics from the Bureau of Foreign Trade under the ROC Ministry of Economic Affairs show that bilateral trade topped US$49.1 billion in 2013, and reached US$46.6 billion between January and the end of November last year. In 2013, Taiwan was the EU’s seventh-largest trading partner in Asia and 22nd-largest overall, while the EU is Taiwan’s fourth-largest trading partner. Meanwhile, the EU is the largest source of foreign direct investment in Taiwan, which highlights the confidence that European enterprises have in the nation’s economic environment.
Both sides have also expressed interest in expanding bilateral trade relations. In October 2013, the European Parliament (EP) passed a resolution calling on the European Commission to begin talks with Taiwan on investment protection and market access agreements. This marked the first time that the EP adopted a stand-alone resolution specifically addressing Taiwan-EU trade ties. Meanwhile, Taiwanese trade officials regularly visit their counterparts in the 28 EU member states to garner support for an economic cooperation agreement, underscoring Taiwan’s steadfast commitment to enhancing trade links.
Besides offering greater convenience to Taiwanese travelers, the granting of Schengen visa-waiver status to ROC nationals demonstrates the importance that European countries place on strong ties with Taiwan. The growth in economic and cultural links over the past four years also stands as a testament to the viable diplomacy policy of ROC President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九). By facilitating increased exchanges, the visa-waiver arrangement has significantly bolstered efforts on both sides to further enhance mutually beneficial relations.