| Author (Person) | Crosbie, Judith |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | 26.07.07 |
| Publication Date | 26/07/2007 |
| Content Type | News |
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MEPs have criticised European Commission proposals under which fingerprints would be taken from children as young as six for a new database of people wanting to enter the EU. A report by Sarah Ludford, a UK Liberal MEP, states that fingerprints for the Visa Information System (VIS) should be taken from those aged between 14 and 79 years. This is in line with rules for travel to the US and for Eurodac, the EU’s biometric database for asylum-seekers, says the report. VIS is due to begin in 2009 storing biometric data on people who apply to the EU for travel, student or work visas. The proposal aims at combating illegal migration, terrorism and organised crime, and visa shopping, whereby people rejected for a visa in one EU state apply to another. Ludford says that she is concerned that the Commission’s proposal is not backed up with a technical analysis of how fingerprints of young children could be used. "It seems too risky to take fingerprints of young children from the start in such a completely new and large-scale database, with the possibility of error which would discredit the entire system," the report states. Concerns were also raised last year when it emerged that new EU biometric passports would contain fingerprints on children from the age of six. Doubts exist about the reliability of using fingerprints of children whose fingerprints have not yet fully developed. The Commission, which made the proposal last year, says that it wants fingerprints from young children not to identify them but to verify their identity with their name and photograph. The primary function of the VIS is not counter-terrorism, but managing migration, according to the Commission. It adds that fingerprinting younger children could help prevent child abduction and trafficking. But Ludford says that there are also civil liberties issues around collecting biometric information on very young children. It would make matters more inconvenient for families wanting to travel to the EU on holidays and would damage the image of the EU, she adds. Ludford’s report also highlights concerns with the Commission’s proposal to contract private firms to collect biometric data. There are worries that, outside embassies and consulates, sufficient guarantees might not be given about the protection of the data. "If you’re going to out-source this in somewhere like Zimbabwe or Burma the authorities might be very interested to know who might be applying for a visa to the EU," the report says. Ludford’s report recommends that visas should be issued from "member states’ buildings or delegations of the Commission". But the Commission says that allowing private companies to collect the biometric data for people applying for visas would cut down inconvenience. In large states such as Russia it could mean people would not have to travel to Moscow or big cities to apply for visas. Ludford’s report is Parliament’s first reading opinion on the Commission’s proposal, which needs backing from both Parliament and the Council of Ministers to become law. MEPs have criticised European Commission proposals under which fingerprints would be taken from children as young as six for a new database of people wanting to enter the EU. |
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| Source Link | Link to Main Source http://www.europeanvoice.com |
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| Subject Categories | Justice and Home Affairs, Security and Defence |
| Countries / Regions | Europe |
