US delays 'biometric passport' rules
US Attorney Alberto Gonzales today confirmed the US Administration had agreed to delay plans requiring European Union countries and others to adopt new passports with fingerprint and iris scan information by the end of October.
“There are going to be changes,” Gonzales said. “There will be an additional period of time for visa-waiver countries to issue passports with the complete (security) chip.”
He told reporters there would likely be an announcement giving details of the changed plan later today.
Washington has said that all EU passports issued after October 26 need to have biometric security elements – information such as fingerprints or a digital photo – and be fitted with a microchip containing information on the passport holder’s facial features if the person wants to enter the US.
Twenty-seven friendly nations whose citizens enjoy visa-free travel rights to the US would have been required to issue so-called biometric passports by that deadline.
However the European Union and other countries had complained they would not be able to have the technology ready in time. Gonzales said France and Italy in particular had expressed concerns over the deadline.
He said the agreement “takes into account the concerns of those two countries,” and others.
Gonzales did not say how much extra time countries would be given.
Under the revised plan, visa waiver countries will still have to introduce passports with digital photos by the October deadline.
EU Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Franco Frattini had asked for a new August 2006 deadline for introducing the new secure travel documents.
The US Congress extended a 2003 deadline for the introduction of the passports by EU countries to October this year, but had refused a further extension.
Gonzales met with Frattini and other EU officials yesterday, in his first visit to EU headquarters as top US anti-crime chief.
During those talks Gonzales and Frattini agreed to work on further cooperation in information-sharing in the war against terror.
