Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-01-13-Speech-2-204"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20090113.25.2-204"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"−
Mr President, Mr Barrot, ladies and gentlemen, the proposal we are discussing today is aimed at changing the regulations approved in 2004, which improved and harmonised the security regulations relating to the protection of EU citizens’ passports and travel documents against fraudulent use, at the same time as it introduced elements of biometric identification. Contrary to the procedure in 2004, we are now in codecision. I want to thank the French Presidency and Commissioner Barrot for the enormous commitment they have made in this case with a view to reaching agreement at first reading. I would also like to thank the shadow rapporteurs for their work and their cooperation, which have been indispensable in obtaining this result.
This solution was necessary, if we bear in mind that this regulation came into force in 2004, and as from June this year at the latest, all the Member States would have to collect the fingerprints of children from birth. However, according to the existing studies resulting from pilot projects conducted in several Member States, it is very difficult to take or even rely on fingerprints of children under six years of age. It is true that the national legislature could create derogations from this obligation. However, that would mean that up to the age limit for which that exemption was granted only temporary passports could be issued. It would be an excessive burden for parents to have to obtain a passport for each of their children whenever they wanted to travel outside the Schengen area.
We therefore succeeded in reaching an agreement stipulating a period of four years during which the age limit will be set at 12 years, with an escape clause which should allow those States which have already adopted legislation enshrining a lower limit to apply this, provided that limit is not lower than six years. A revision clause was also expected, taking into account the results of the study which we requested the Commission to carry out concerning the credibility of children’s fingerprints, stipulating that the age limit will be definitively set and harmonised for all the Member States in four years’ time.
A second derogation was introduced relating to persons who, for various reasons, are physically unable to provide fingerprints. The International Civil Aviation Organization’s ‘one person-one passport’ recommendation was also accepted. As the European Data Protection Supervisor said, it is a further benefit in the fight against child trafficking.
With the goal of protecting children, we also obtained an interinstitutional agreement, concluded between the three institutions, to develop a common position on the adoption of the necessary rules to protect children against abduction and trafficking. The respective initiatives should be introduced by the Commission within the framework of the respective area of civil law.
I must confess that we are struggling with the issue of the Union’s reduced competence in this matter: the issuing of passports is a national prerogative and the European Union can only intervene with regard to the reinforcement of biometric data in passports and travel documents, with the aim of improving the security of those documents within the framework of border control.
I have to say that we have established rules that safeguard the exercise of the Community competence, determining which types of data will be included – fingerprints and photographs – and also the limits on the use that will be made of them. They may only be used for the purposes provided for in this regulation – border control – and to verify the authenticity of the document and ascertain whether whoever carries it is or is not its legitimate bearer.
We also reached agreement on two studies: one on the so-called ‘breeder documents’, to guarantee that the documents which enable passports to be issued deserve the same trust as the passport we want to safeguard, and another on data matching in border controls, in order to be able to study the false rejection rates. As a result of these studies, and bearing in mind the four-year revision clause, at some point the necessary changes should be introduced through a codecision procedure, without forgetting that it is important to consult the European Data Protection Supervisor, a rule which was unfortunately not taken into account when drafting this proposal."@en1
|
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples