Franco Frattini, Vice-President of the EC in charge of Justice, Freedom and Security

The European Commission adopted today a proposal for a Regulation introducing biometric identifiers in the Visa Information System (VIS). This proposal also includes different options allowing Member States to jointly organise the reception and processing of visa applications.

The aims of the proposal are twofold:

1. Introduction of biometrics into the visa procedure

As envisaged in the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the Visa Information System and the exchange of data between Member States on short-stay visas (COM(2004)835final), as presented by the Commission on 28 December 2004, Member States shall introduce fingerprints and photographs as biometric identifiers in addition to alphanumeric data on the visa applicant, and the visa application in order to be able to proceed with a reliable verification and identification of visa applicants. The VIS is designed to improve the implementation of the common visa policy by facilitating the visa issuing procedure, preventing visa shopping, facilitating checks at external borders and strengthening the fight against fraud and, within the territory of the Member States, assisting in the identification and return of illegal immigrants, facilitating the application of Regulation (EC) No 343/2003 and contributing to the prevention of threats to the internal security of any of the Member States.

As the taking of biometric identifiers will now be part of the visa application procedure, the CCI have to be amended in order to create the legal basis for the collection of biometric identifiers. The technical standards required for taking of the biometric identifiers are compliant to the ICAO recommendations (Doc. 9303 part 1 6th edition, not yet published). These standards set out in detail how the photograph has to be taken and give the standards for the scanning of fingerprints. This will ensure interoperability throughout Europe.

2. Organisation of Member States consular offices

The Hague programme invited the Commission to present "a proposal on the establishment of common application centres focusing inter alia on possible synergies linked with the development of the VIS." This measure has been taken up by the Council and Commission Action Plan implementing the Hague Programme on strengthening freedom, security and justice in the European Union.

In the current CCI, only the form of representation is foreseen, which means that one Member State can represent another Member States for the whole visa procedure including the decision to issue a visa.

The current proposal introduces new forms of co-operation somehow separating the reception of and the decision on the application. In order to facilitate the procedure for the applicant, a Member States or a company may take the application and the biometric identifiers and transfer it to the Member States responsible for the decision.

It has to be underlined that always the Member States responsible for the visa application will take the final decision and will also remain responsible for the protection of personal data of applicants.

Vice-President Franco Frattini, Commissioner responsible for freedom, security and justice, declared: "security will be enhanced via the introduction of biometric identifiers in the Visa Information System whilst fully respecting requirements of data protection. “Common Application Centres" will have the advantage of reinforcing and streamlining local consular cooperation between Member States as resources can be pooled and shared".

The objective of the proposal is to adapt the Common Consular Instructions (CCI) to the use of biometrics in the area of visa policy. The obligation to enrol biometric identifiers from visa applicants is the logical consequence of using biometrics in order to enhance security. This proposal creates the legal obligation to collect fingerprints from visa applicants.

In order to avoid all Member States having to install the necessary equipment for enrolling biometric identifiers in every consular office, the idea of creating "Common application Centres" was born. This is the reason for dealing, in the second part of the proposal, with the organisation of Member States' consular services.

In addition to the existing form of representation, there are new forms of organisation of consular offices suggested: co-location, common application centres and outsourcing.

• Co-location means that consular staff of two or more Member States are sharing the equipment of a host Member State in its consular post;
• Common application centres means that consular staff of two or more Member States are pooled in one "neutral" building in order to receive visa applications;
• Outsourcing means collaboration with external service providers for the possibility either to function as a "call-centre" for giving appointments or for the reception of visa applications including biometric identifiers.

In all cases, the treatment and the decision on the application is taken by the Member State responsible. Especially outsourcing raises very important questions of data protection and these issues will be discussed in-depth with the European Parliament and Member States as this is an entirely new development in the common visa policy.

This proposal could be a first step to the further enhancement of the harmonisation of the application of the CCI and in view of future Common Visa Offices.