Europe’s citizens face mandatory fingerprinting under ‘biometric’ passport plans currently set for agreement between Washington and Brussels.
EU-US talks aimed at greater security cooperation will see European and American officials agree electronic standards for including digitalised photographs and fingerprints on travel documents.
The European Commission has already proposed that EU passports include a digital facial image and fingerprints embedded in computer microchips.
Speaking on Monday, the commission’s justice department chief Jonathan Faull revealed the proposal was set to be agreed by EU governments “rather quickly”.
EU moves mirror work being done by the G8 bloc of countries and the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
The high-tech documents will be coordinated to ensure that both EU and US border officials can verify a traveller’s identity.
“We are thinking on the same lines,” said Faull. “There will be complete interoperability.”
The European Parliament and civil liberties campaigners have raised concerns over the move to ‘biometric’ documents.
EU passport applicants would have to give between four and eight fingerprints to get a travel document - mandatory fingerprinting outside criminal investigations is currently only required in Portugal.
Brussels is also considering the creation of a ‘register’ of EU passports to guard against fraud, a plan that would see an Europe-wide fingerprint database.
Critics suggest that the European ‘biometric’ debate has been bounced by Washington’s linkage of the measure to a future ‘visa waiver’ scheme.
Extension of a deal, to 2006, exempting most EU citizens from lengthy and costly visa requirements is tied to the development of common biometric standards.
In the meantime European travellers to the US will be photographed and fingerprinted from September 30 this year.
But the EU does not plan to impose similar “reciprocal” measures on American visitors to Europe.
“We have no present intention of rolling out a similar system,” said Faull.
“Reciprocality is a many splendoured thing and does not always require tit-for-tat responses.”
source: http://www.eupolitix.com/EN/News/200404/bd0db20d-dbe9-44ca-b7b8-4a156506c967.htm 26apr04
Interpol could host a database of lost or stolen EU and US travel documents under plans discussed on Monday.
Senior EU and Washington officials have launched a push to greater Trans-Atlantic cooperation focused on security issues.
Europe’s new anti-terror coordinator Gijs de Vries joined the European Commission’s top justice official Jonathan Faull and US border chief Asa Hutchinson for Brussels talks.
Security issues are “beginning to assume a prominent role” in negotiations between Europe and the US after a series of rows over post-September 11 anti-terror demands from Washington.
“We should not surprise each other,” said Faull.
Stressing that officials “have got down to brass tacks very quickly”, the commission hailed early US backing for an Interpol database of lost or stolen passports.
Both Washington and the EU run registers of lost of stolen travel documents but currently there is no sharing of information.
“We discovered somewhat to our consternation that it didn’t exist,” said Faull.
“A framework, with checks and balances, is to be worked out.”
Europe is taking the lead, and indicated Hutchinson, Washington is set to follow – possibly heralding a deal in time for June’s EU-US summit.
“The EU has taken a leadership role, we are very receptive and are examining how we can participate,” said the under-secretary for border & transport security at the US Department of Homeland Security.
source: http://www.eupolitix.com/EN/News/200404/b1cc659d-e0c9-45ed-927f-c978f683fb1f.htm 26apr04
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