Regulation 2009/444 - Amendment of Council Regulation (EC) No 2252/2004 on standards for security features and biometrics in passports and travel documents issued by Member States - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 142/1

The European Council meeting in Thessaloniki on 19 and 20 June 2003 confirmed that a coherent approach is needed in the EU on biometric identifiers or biometric data for documents for third-country nationals, EU citizens’ passports and information systems (VIS and SIS II).

In this context, the Council has adopted Regulation (EC) No 2252/2004 of 13 December 2004 on standards for security features and biometrics in passports and travel documents issued by Member States (2), which represents an important step towards the use of new elements which render passports and travel documents more secure and establish a more reliable link between the holder and the passport or travel document, thus making an important contribution to ensuring that passports and travel documents are protected against fraudulent use.

Regulation (EC) No 2252/2004 provides for a general obligation to provide fingerprints which will be stored on a contactless chip in the passport or travel document. However, experience from tests showed that exceptions are needed. During pilot projects in some Member States it appeared that the fingerprints of children under the age of 6 seemed not to be of a sufficient quality for one-to-one verification of identity. Furthermore, they are subject to significant changes which make it difficult to check them during the entire period of validity of the passport or travel document.

The harmonisation of exceptions to the general obligation to provide fingerprints is essential in order to maintain common security standards and with a view to simplifying border controls. Both for legal and security reasons it should not be left to national legislation to define the exceptions to the obligation to provide fingerprints in passports and travel documents issued by Member States.

Regulation (EC) No 2252/2004 requires biometric data to be collected and stored in the storage medium of passports and travel documents with a view to issuing such documents. This is without prejudice to any other use or storage of these data in accordance with national legislation of Member States. Regulation (EC) No 2252/2004 does not provide a legal base for setting up or maintaining databases for storage of those data in Member States, which is strictly a matter of national law.

Furthermore, as a supplementary security measure and in order to provide additional protection for children, the principle of ‘one person-one passport’ should be introduced. It is also recommended by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and it ensures that the passport and the biometric features are only linked to the person holding the passport. It is more secure if every person has his/her own passport.

Taking into account the fact that the Member States will be obliged to issue individual passports to minors and that there might be significant differences between the Member States’ legislation regarding children crossing the external borders of the Member States, the Commission should examine the need for measures to ensure a common approach regarding the rules for the protection of children crossing the external...