US extends biometric passport deadline

Washington has officially announced it will extend the deadline for visa-free EU countries to introduce biometric passports.

US officials informed a summit of G8 justice and home affairs ministers in Sheffield, UK, on Wednesday (15 June) that the deadline was to be put back.

The decision marks a significant shift in US policy, as authorities had earlier warned they would not extend the deadline for the second time.

Under the ruling, the 27 states that enjoy visa-free travel to the US will have one extra year to introduce full-scale biometric passports, according to the Financial Times.

They were orginally supposed to start issuing documents with special microchips containing genetic information about the passport holders by 26 October, or face visa obligations when entering the US.

But due to pressure from the American travel industry and the European Commission, Washington has agreed to accept passports with digital photos, as a substitute for biometric data.

It is still not clear what kind of provisions will be set for France and Italy, the only two countries still using laminated pictures for their citizens' travel documents.

Officials last night confimed that the French and Italian issue had been "addressed and resolved", while not making it clear if the two states would be granted visa-free access after October or not.

Source: euobserver.com