Brussels, 18/06/2008 (Agence Europe) - On the sidelines of the European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg, Slovenian Interior Minister Dragutin Mate attended a political trilogue as did Sarah Ludford, MEP (ALDE, UK), who is rapporteur on the proposal for a regulation to amend common consular instructions. “The political trilogue helped clarify the positions of both institutions on key issues, making it easier to arrive at an adequate compromise final text” said Mate in a press release. During the trilogue, three main subjects were tackled: the age at which children's fingerprints can be taken in visa issuance procedure, security standards in transferring such data to consulates, and rules regarding cooperation with external service providers in visa procedure. Discussions aimed at adoption of the text that is to allow establishment of the visa information system, will continue during the French EU Presidency. (B.C./transl.jl)