mr president i am happy to support the proposals presented today
i believe there is an urgent need to create a common set of standards for the verification of biometric data
colleagues may not be aware that at present there are wide discrepancies between countries as to how rigorously for example they verify passport photographs
many countries require that the citizen applying for a passport actually present him or herself in person together with their documents and photographs and in these cases the officials at the passport-issuing office can see if that person bears a resemblance to the photo presented
however in some countries maybe most notably in the united kingdom applications by post are the norm and the authenticity of the photo is only confirmed by a so-called professional person who has known the applicant for at least two years
the list of persons eligible to do this in the united kingdom makes for fairly interesting reading
this verification can be made by your optician or your dentist but also by a professional photographer or a fire service official no disrespect to members of these professions
it is also interesting that fairly lax rules on verification exist in the united states
verifications of photos for passports for first-time applicants can be carried out at so-called acceptable facilities
in fact this means the staff at the local post office
it seems incredible for such a security-conscious country whose citizens enjoy visa-free travel to europe to have such a system of verification
so in order to make passports secure we really need to bring in much more reliable biometric data namely fingerprints
we also need to ensure that the agency responsible for their collection and verification complies with the same standards not only within the eu but also in those nations whose citizens do enjoy visa-free travel to europe to assure us that they too are meeting the same stringent requirements as are our citizens here in europe
