EU requires new biometrical passports for Russia as a condition to join th

[lovuian]

http://english.pravda.ru/main/18/90/362/15164_passport.html

Russian authorities are currently working on the requirement of the European Union to introduce changes to Russian passports for traveling abroad. According to the EU's requirement, Russian passports are supposed to contain the biometric identification of their owners. International organizations recommend the idea should be implemented by 2011. Russia is to start realizing it in 2006-2007, deputy chairman of the Federal Migration Service, Yury Dyomin said.

"There will be no sudden change of passports in Russia. Old IDs will be valid, when new ones will be introduced," Mr. Dyomin said. It is noteworthy that Russian citizens have recently had to experience several passport changes over just a couple of years.

The introduction of biometrical passports is connected with the toughening of the anti-terrorist struggle in Europe and in the USA. It is expected that the new measure will improve cooperation between special services and the police in terms of intercepting electronic messages. New passports are already being tested in Great Britain, Germany and the USA. It is worth mentioning, however, that the idea of biometrical passports does not find the universal approval among passport-holders. British citizens, for example, characterized the novelty as the "absolute espionage." A biological passport will contain a digitalized image of its owner: it will be possible to trace and scan the images at airports, for example. In addition, there will be a special section for digital fingerprints in the ID as well. The final decision pertaining to the type of the information to be uploaded in the passport chip has not been coordinated yet: it will probably be a blood group, a tax-payer's identification code or something else.

more...

Its coming and welcome to the Orwell world!!!

[regnaD kciN]

1. I should probably point out that...

...Pravda, at this point in time, is pretty much a Russian supermarket tabloid. It has about the same credibility as the Weekly World News ("Satan's face seen in World Trade Center smoke!").

:eyes:

[reorg]

2. you probably should realize

that whatever the quality of Pravda's overall reporting may be - they are at least one step ahead of you when it comes to current news:

>>

CONCEPT OF RUSSIAN BIOMETRIC PASSPORTS READY
The Russian government published on its official Web site yesterday its concept of passport and visa documents that will contain biometric information about the holder: a digital photograph or fingerprints. President Putin has issued instructions that an advance specimen of the Russian biometric passport must be ready by January 1, 2006, Kommersant informs its readers.

"We should not allow our citizens to be discriminated against when passing through passport and visa control abroad ," presidential aide Viktor Ivanov said when explaining the need for the rapid introduction of new generation Russian passports. Moreover, the presidential instruction states that the new passports are needed to combat terrorism and illegal migration. (...)

<<

http://www.findbiometrics.com/viewarticle.php?id=47

>>

January 19, 2005
U.S.-EU Cooperation Against Terrorism
Kristin Archick
Analyst in European Affairs
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division

... The EU has agreed to enhance the security of EU passports by making the inclusion of two biometric features — facial recognition data and fingerprints — mandatory, (...) <<

www.fas.org/man/crs/RS22030.pdf


>> "In our discussions, it was clear to me that the European Union has accelerated their counterterrorism efforts, and we are grateful for that," said Hutchinson.

He expressed delight with the recent signing of a U.S.-EU agreement on the Container Security Initiative, and the provisional EU decision to include not only facial recognition but also finger scans on biometric travel documents. ... <<

http://nato.usmission.gov/Article.asp?ID=F790A3DA-5818-4688-B1AC-4A053DED8DA8

http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2004&m=November&x=200411231606211CJsamohT0.5934412&t=is/is-latest.html


edit: link added