On Thursday 13 February MEPs approved new rules on the "False and Authentic Documents Online" (FADO) system, by adopting a report by Roberta Metsola (EPP, Malta), which was adopted by 592 votes to 33 with 3 abstentions (see EUROPE 12365/29).
FADO, which dates back to 1998 and is available for documenting experts in 31 countries, is an online archiving system for authentic, false and falsified documents, set up to combat illegal immigration and the use of fraudulent documents.
The update of the rules includes the scope of FADO, the categories of documents and data it contains and a specification of the role of each. It was also decided that the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), having developed expertise in the field of documentary fraud, would take over the management of the FADO system from the General Secretariat of the Council.
"The aim is to strengthen cooperation between Member States and partner countries so that action can be taken on false and genuine documents, which helps to secure our external borders", Ms Metsola explained in a plenary debate on 12 February.
The text, which had been agreed in inter-institutional negotiations at the end of November 2019, still needs to be formally approved by the EU Council before entering into force. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)