Brussels, 22/11/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 21 November, the European Commission decided to take Belgium to the Court of Justice of the EU for not having always implemented the issue of biometric passports containing fingerprints. “More than three years after the deadline was set for issuing biometric passports with fingerprints, Belgium still fails to comply with this requirement”, the Commission points out, and it has therefore referred Belgium to the Court of Justice, asking that it “speed up the delivery of biometric passports containing the agreed security feature”.
Following the entry into force of Regulation 2252/2004, the member states had until 28 August 2006 to ensure that the passports they delivered had a chip containing the facial image of the passport holder, and until 28 June 2009 to ensure that the chip also contained the passport holder's fingerprints. Among the member states obliged to respect this regulation, Belgium is the only one not now delivering biometric passports with fingerprints. After receiving a reasoned opinion in September 2011, the Belgian authorities clarified the timetable planned for them to be equipped with the necessary material for the delivery of passports with fingerprints. However, although some measures were taken, the Commission says, the full implementation of biometric passports containing the fingerprints of the passport holder is not planned before autumn 2013. The Commission underlines that the delivery of secure travel documents - in which citizens of the EU can trust - is one of the cornerstones of the Schengen area and that “it is crucial that all member states issue compliant passports if we are to guarantee the same level of protection against fraudulent use throughout the EU” (our translation). (SP/transl.fl)