The European Commission has set out proposals for harmonising
security standards, recommending that new passports for EU citizens
contain only a facial image. Member States will, however, be
permitted to add fingerprint data to the passport if preferred.
The events of September 11th have led countries worldwide to
tighten up on their security measures. The US is leading the way,
with the personal data of all passengers on EU flights bound for
the US being given to US authorities, to allow checks to be made on
passenger identities.
From October this year, new rules mean that European visitors to
the US will have to produce a visa unless their passport contains
biometric identifiers. At present no such visa is necessary, and,
according to reports, it is unlikely that the EU will be able to
comply with the requirement until 2005.
The move towards including biometric data on passports will, at
least at first, be at the discretion of Member States. This is in
contrast to visa and residence permits for third country nationals,
which are required to include both types of biometric identifier,
according to proposals approved by the Commission last year.
The proposed Regulation, which has still to be approved by the
Council of Ministers and the European Parliament, provides the
legal basis for Member States to store biometric data on the
passport. However, the actual implementation of the proposals will
be left to the Member States.
