News Release

No. 21/04
February 18, 2004

EU COMMISSION PROPOSES INCLUSION OF BIOMETRIC IDENTIFIERS IN EU CITIZENS’ PASSPORTS 

The European Commission adopted today a proposal for a Regulation harmonizing security standards, including biometrics, for EU citizens' passports need for a coherent approach on the introduction of biometric identifiers into visas, residence permits and passports. The proposal will now be considered by the Council and the European Parliament.  

The proposals for visas and residence permits provide for two mandatory biometric identifiers: the facial image and fingerprints. Only the facial image has been chosen as a mandatory biometric identifier for passports. Fingerprints can be added as an option at the discretion of member states.  

The aim of the Commission proposal is to upgrade the security features adopted by the Council in October 2000 in its Resolution on minimum security standards for passports and other travel documents. It will also render these features legally binding. The proposal will therefore set a harmonized high security standard for passports within the European Union of 25 member states. Just as was the case in the Resolution, the Commission sets out the minimum standards and will not stop member states that wish to go further.  

The Regulation provides only for the legal basis for member states to store biometric data on the passport. The implementation of such action is left to the member states in accordance with the technical specifications to be set out by the Committee created by Article 6 of Regulation (EC) 1683/95 on a uniform format for visas. Member states will carry out the processing of the biometric data.