Negotiators from the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union reached a provisional interinstitutional agreement on Tuesday 19 February on the provisions of future national identity cards issued in the EU.
At the end of a meeting the day before with the shadow rapporteurs on this issue, rapporteur Gérard Deprez (ALDE, Belgium), was able to lift Parliament's opposition to the mandatory nature of fingerprints on future cards issued, his entourage said on Tuesday. Parliament's original mandate adopted a voluntary approach.
This is the message that the rapporteur therefore delivered to the Romanian Presidency of the Council on Tuesday afternoon during the trilogue negotiation session. Such a development has thus made it possible to reach an agreement, which will have to be confirmed in the Committee on Civil Liberties on 11 March, according to the Belgian MP's entourage.
The issue of the mandatory nature of fingerprints on future identity cards was the main knot to unravel, as shown by the trilogue meeting on Thursday 14 February (see EUROPE 12194).
However, the S&D group disagreed, pointing out that the choice made on the mandatory nature of fingerprints was the "wrong approach" in a statement. The debate is indeed very delicate in Germany, where the presence of fingerprints on identity cards is currently optional. According to German Social Democrat Sylvia-Yvonne Kaufmann, this choice should have remained a matter for nation-states.
The provisional agreement strengthens the security features of future identity cards. These will now be issued in a credit card form (ID-1), with a photo and two fingerprints of the cardholder. The European flag will be present on these cards with, inside, mention of the country issuing the card. The new cards will be valid for a maximum of 5 to 10 years, with exceptions (minors and seniors).
The new rules will apply two years after their entry into force and existing identity cards that do not meet the requirements will cease to be valid 10 years after the date of application of the new rules or upon their expiry. The least secure cards will expire in five years.
Parliament has also obtained new requirements for the security and confidentiality of personal data. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)