Taipei, Feb. 28 (CNA) The top European Union (EU) representative in Taiwan said Britain’s decision to include Taiwan in its visa-waiver program will trigger a debate in the Schengen area over the possibility of granting a similar visa exemption.

“What is clear is that the U.K. has granted a visa exemption for Taiwanese citizens and I think that is probably going to bring members of the Schengen area to assess the situation regarding Taiwan,”said Guy Ledoux, head of the Taipei-based European Economic and Trade Office (EETO) in a recent interview with the Central News Agency.

The British government announced Feb. 9 that it will waive visa requirements for Taiwanese citizens who visit the U.K. on business or for pleasure for up to six months, effective March 3.

Britain is the first major Western country to include Taiwan in its visa waiver program.

Noting that Taiwan and the EU have close economic and trade relations, Ledoux said granting a visa exemption would probably be good for bilateral commercial ties and would attract more Taiwanese tourists to visit Europe.

“I think it would be in the interest of Europe to work toward following the same path as the U.K., ”the de facto EU ambassador to Taiwan said.

He expressed reservations about the discussion of the issue in the EU, however, saying that he was unclear about the agenda of meetings in Brussels at this time. (By Rachel Chan) Enditem/ls