Plan to fingerprint visitors to EU welcomed
Ireland and Britain will take part in some of the new arrangements and also develop their own joint monitoring database, Ireland’s Justice Minister Brian Lenihan said.
The new system, which replicates the US security measures, should be ready to come into force in the middle of next year, the Slovenian Interior Minister Dragutin Mate said at a two-day meeting of EU ministers in Slovenia.
Currently 19 pieces of information given by passengers when they book their travel to the US from the EU are handed over to Homeland Security Services in the States in advance, as part of a Passenger Name Records (PNR) agreement, and are kept for 13 years.
The EU now intends to collect the same information on everyone coming into the 27 member states, and to augment this by taking fingerprints from all foreigners entering and leaving the EU, as has been recently introduced by the US.
Many justice ministers also support having all travellers electronically sign up for security clearance before booking flights, to allow authorities to vet those intending to travel well beforehand.
EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini said the package would allow the EU to better protect its external borders and to keep track of people who enter the union with a visa but fail to leave when their three-month visa expires.
“Europe has a major problem with over-stayers who enter legally and then disappear — this cannot be tolerated,” he said.
The ministers heard a report from Britain, which has introduced a form of PNR, as have Denmark and Spain. Mr Frattini said it has been very successful and has resulted in arrests in relation to trafficking of children, for instance.
The EU and US have set up a high-level group to explore how they can develop compatible systems.
The justice ministers agreed to hold a special conference in March to discuss the package further.
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