EU demands biometrics by 2005

Facial biometric data is set to be included on visas and residency permits for non-EU foreign nationals as part of two new proposals from the European Commission to the European Council and Parliament.

It follows the recommendations agreed at a meeting of the heads of state of the EU countries in June, where introducing biometrics to passports and visas were deemed priorities and the Commission was set to work on it.

The Commission advocates the use of two biometric elements to identify people and, above all, to make visas and residency permits more secure. Its method of choice will focus on the holder's face, which will be digitised and stored on a chip inserted in ID documents.

"A second element that should be added, namely, a fingerprint, which affords the best solution for the fundamental controls," the Commission said.

These facial biometrics would become obligatory for visas and residency permits for nationals of non-EU countries from 2005 for third country citizens. They will then be integrated into passports of European citizens, according to the wishes of the European Union Council.

In selecting what data would be relevant, the Council has said it had followed the work carried out by International Civil Aviation Organisation, explaining that it had "played a role in pioneering the definition of international norms on the subject".

For privacy organisations like the UK's Statewatch the danger of biometric identification, which has even been criticised in official circles, is very real. Tony Bunyan, director of Statewatch, said: "These proposals are yet another result of the 'war on terrorism', which show that the EU is just as keen as the USA to introduce systems of mass surveillance which have much more to do with political and social control than fighting terrorism."

To the proposed surveillance of all telecommunications is added the control of movement of all visitors and third country nationals, to be followed by that of EU citizens too. How long will it be before there will be a compulsory EU identity card?"

The information will be kept on a Schengen (SIS II) information system which officials from across the Union will be able to consult. Bunyan is worried that such data, originally collected for travel documents may be misused.

"As to data protection, no new powers should be taken to collect personal data until national data protection authorities are given proper investigative powers and finance," he said.

Estelle Dumout writes for ZDNet France