Brussels, 26/09/2003 (Agence Europe) - The Luxembourg Justice Minister, Luc Frieden, welcomed in a press release the proposal adopted by the European Commission on integration of biometric identification elements in visas and residence permits for third country nationals (see EUROPE of 25 September, p.8). At present, he hopes that the proposal will be examined rapidly by the European Parliament and the Council so that it may be adopted as soon as possible.
Mr Frieden considers the proposal "is a major step toward the European Area of Freedom, Security and Justice and allows a more effective fight to be carried out against counterfeiting of documents and the fraudulent use of documents". The minister also considers that this is "an important instrument in the fight against crime and illegal immigration" and considers that it "facilitates and accelerates the border crossing process".
Furthermore, Luc Frieden hopes that a harmonised solution will be proposed for the characteristics of passports of Union citizens, which "today differ from one country to the next and make effective controls at borders difficult". In this respect, the minister said he was pleased with the fact that "the draft Constitution for Europe provides the necessary legal base".