# CE2004084EN.01073802.xml

| 3.4.2004 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | CE 84/738 |
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3.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CE 84/738

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(2004/C 84 E/0833)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3625/03

by Charles Tannock (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(5 December 2003)

Subject:   Standardisation of national identity documents

Subject:

Recently, the United Kingdom Home Secretary David Blunkett announced plans for the introduction of national identity cards with the setting up of a national biometric database which will include unique iris and fingerprint data, incorporating smartchip technology into the cards. The setting up of this system in the United Kingdom is expected to take course over the next five years.

Are there plans to develop similar database in other EU Member States? Given that EU citizens can travel freely on national identity cards even outside the Schengen area, what plans are there to standarize these documents throughout the EU? For instance, allowing the information to be readable by machine and recorded on the card in addition to the issuing authorities official language also in an international language, such as English and French, in order to facilitate their usage as EU-wide travel documents and enable ready recognition by the immigration and police authority outside of the citizens' Member State of origin?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(16 January 2004)

(16 January 2004)

At European level, the Thessaloniki European Council (19/20 June 2003) called for a coherent approach in the Union on biometric identifiers or biometric data which would result in harmonised solutions for documents for third country nationals, Union citizens' passports and information systems (VIS and SIS II), and invited the Commission ‘to prepare the appropriate proposals, starting with the visa’.

As a first step, the Commission presented in September 2003 two proposals (1) on the integration of two biometrie identifiers, the facial image and two fingerprints, into the uniform format for visa and the residence permit for third country nationals.

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As a second stage, the Commission is considering the feasibility of a proposal on the harmonisation of the security features of the European Passport including biometrics. Such an eventual proposal would relate only to provisions which improve the security of the passport by harmonising, and rendering legally binding, common security features which are currently set out in a non-binding Resolution of the Representatives of Member States meeting within the Council. Furthermore, biometrie identifiers would be integrated. The exercise to be undertaken would not go beyond what is required for security reasons and for the control of citizens crossing the external borders; a new harmonisation of the cover of the European passport is not at all foreseen.

For the time being, apart from the above mentioned initiatives, the Commission does not intend to present further proposals on the identity card or a European database related to the individual biometrie data of Union citizens.

Initiatives in view of setting up such a database for national citizens fall under the competence of Member States.

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(1)  COM(2003) 558 final.

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