Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-07-09-Speech-3-507"
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"en.20080709.42.3-507"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, I should like to thank Baroness Ludford for her proposed report, which my Group fully endorses. The European Union’s visa policy is a reflection of how we welcome people. That is why we want to find a solution that will enable us to guarantee the security of European visas while respecting the fundamental rights of third-country nationals who apply for them, particularly with regard to the protection of personal data.
With this in mind, I hope that the Council can understand the European Parliament’s requirements. We must find a solution which is acceptable to everyone. I share the rapporteur’s concern about the outsourcing of the collection and processing of the biometric data inserted into the visas. We do not believe that it is enough simply to validate the practices of Member States. If we are to have a real common visa policy, it is essential that Member States study the feasibility of the other options proposed before resorting to outsourcing.
It is also our priority to ensure that the privacy of people who provide biometric data is protected. We believe it is essential to define very clearly the contracts of the external service providers who might be collecting these biometric data. Moreover, in order to guarantee the security of these data it seems to me absolutely vital that they should be collected on premises which enjoy real protection.
Regarding the age limit for the collection of biometric data, I do not have any ideological opinion on the subject. However, I think that our present level of experience does not enable us to guarantee that the fingerprints of children less than 12 years old are sufficiently reliable to enable them to be collected in order to be used. I think that that would give a false impression of security.
That is why I should like us to adopt a precautionary principle by fixing a lower age limit of 12 years for the collection of fingerprints, and that limit can then be revised, once we have at our disposal the independent study which the Commissioner has promised us, which will supply all the necessary information about the reliability of children’s fingerprints.
As for the price of visas, fixed of course by the Council, this should be a maximum price. We cannot expect visa applicants to bear the financial burden of the additional requirements of the European Union.
Finally, I should like to say, Commissioner, that I appreciate the work that you have put into these negotiations, because the European Parliament wants its voice to be heard, and at the moment the Council does not seem to be listening to our basic arguments."@en1
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