Thank you, Chairman, and members. I am attending the joint committee on behalf of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, who, unfortunately, is unavoidably absent, being engaged elsewhere on official business.
I wish to thank the joint committee for making time available to discuss the exercise by the State of the option under the Fourth Protocol to the Treaty of Amsterdam of the regulations and proposed regulations concerning the uniform format of visas and residence permits. Since the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam, asylum and immigration matters come under Title IV of the amended treaty establishing the European Community. Title IV specifies the measures the European Council is to adopt in the visa, asylum and immigration fields. The application of Title IV of the EC Treaty to Ireland is subject to the provisions of the Fourth Protocol to the Treaty of Amsterdam, the effect of which is that Ireland has three months from the date a proposal or initiative is presented to the Council to notify the Presidency of the Council in writing of its wish to take part in the adoption and application of the proposed measure under Article 3. Under Article 4 of the protocol, Ireland may also accept a measure at any time after it has been adopted.
In aiming to establish progressively an area of freedom, security and justice in the EU, the Amsterdam treaty marked a major advance. The conclusions of the special EU Council in Tampere on the creation of this area of freedom, security and justice underlined the importance of ensuring fair treatment for third country nationals who reside legally in the territory of member states. The need for more efficient management of migration flows and illegal immigration and the importance of effective controls at external borders as a necessary complement to the implementation of these policies were also emphasised.
It is within the framework of the Amsterdam treaty and the Tampere guidelines that the European Commission in April 2001 proposed the regulations which are before the committee today, namely, Council Regulation (EC) No. 334/2002 amending Regulation No. (EC) No. 1683/95 laying down a uniform format for visas; Council Regulation (EC) No. 333/2002 on a uniform format for forms for affixing the visa issued by member states to persons holding travel documents which are not recognised by the member state drawing up the form and Council Regulation (EC) No. 1030/2002 laying down a uniform format for residence permits for third country nationals.
The aim of these regulations is to render travel and residence documents more secure. A harmonised system of security features provides greater security against counterfeiting and falsification. The proposals also allow for the rapid adoption of new security features if the necessity should arise.
In June 2001 the Government approved the bringing of motions before the Houses of the Oireachtas in regard to these proposed regulations. However, due to the pressure of business, the Oireachtas was unable to consider the matter before the summer recess and we were not in a position to opt in to the proposals within the three month deadline set out in the protocol.
In the aftermath of the tragic events of 11 September 2001, the European Commission was asked by member states to take immediate action to improve document security. Clearly, it was important to be able to detect persons who tried to use forged official documents to gain entry to the European Union. It was felt that more reliable checking was necessary to ensure that the person who presented a document was the same person to whom the document was originally issued. Neither the visa nor the residence permit contained a photograph or other reliable means of identification. Consequently, it was decided that it was urgent to provide for the incorporation into both the visa and residence permit of a photograph meeting high security standards.
As a result, the European Commission presented to the Council a proposal which modified the earlier proposal presented in April 2001. The main changes were aimed at improving the security features of the documents and included the integration of a photograph produced to high security standards and the possibility of changing the colours of the visa format if required to counteract forgery.
The proposals on the modification of the uniform format for visas and the uniform format for forms for affixing the visa were adopted by the Council on 18 February 2002 and the proposal laying down a uniform format for residence permits was adopted on 13 June 2002. The intention, following adoption of the three proposals by the Council, is to exercise the option under Article 4 of the protocol, that is, to exercise the option after the measure has been adopted.
Following the adoption of these three regulations, member states continued to seek further enhancement of the security features of the uniform format for visas and other travel documents. They were in favour of including biometric identifiers in the visa and the residence permit to establish a more reliable link between visa, passport and the person presenting them.
At the informal Justice and Home Affairs Ministers' meeting on 28 and 29 March 2003, member states called again for a Commission proposal to integrate biometric features into the uniform format for visas and residence permits for visas and residence permits for third country nationals.
The European Council on 19 and 20 June 2003 confirmed that a coherent approach is needed in the EU on biometric identifiers or biometric data which would result in harmonised solutions for documents for third country nationals, EU citizens' passports and information systems and invited the Commission to prepare appropriate proposals starting with the visa.
As a result the Commission presented the following proposals: a proposal for a Council regulation amending Regulation (EC) No. 1683/95 laying down a uniform format for visas and a proposal for a Council regulation amending Regulation (EC) No. 1030/2002 laying down a uniform format for residence permits for third country nationals.
The purpose of these regulations is to require member states to integrate biometrics identifiers into the visa and the residence permit for third country nationals in a harmonised way. The primary biometric identifier proposed will be the facial image and the secondary biometric identifier will be the fingerprint. The Commission also intends to bring forward the final date for the implementation of the photograph from 2007 to 2005.
I will now give an outline of each of the regulations and proposed regulations. The following are the main provisions of Council Regulation (EC) No. 334/2002. Article 1 allows for further technical specifications relating to security requirements to be established in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 6(2). It integrates the photograph into the visa. Also, it allows for the colour of the visa sticker to be changed. Articles 2 and 3 refer to technical implementation issues and Article 4 provides a date of entry into force of the regulation.
The main provisions of Council Regulation (EC) No. 333/2002 on a uniform format for forms affixing the visa are as follows. Article 1 defines "form for affixing a visa". Article 2 states that the technical specifications relating to the security features shall be established in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 5(2). Articles 3 and 4 cover secrecy of the technical specifications and data protection issues. Articles 5, 6, 7 and 8 are technical implementation articles. Article 9 provides the date the regulation shall enter into force.
The main provisions of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1030/2002 laying down a uniform format for residence permit for third country nationals are as follows. Article 1 describes the uniform format and also gives a definition of a residence permit and third country national. Article 2 states that additional technical specifications shall be in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 7(2). Articles 3 and 4 deal with the secrecy of the technical specifications and data protection issues. Article 5 sets out classes of third country nationals to whom the regulation does not apply. Articles 6, 7 and 8 are technical implementation articles. Article 9 sets out the timeframe for the implementation of the various measures. Article 10 provides the date the regulation shall enter into force.
The main provisions of Council regulation amending regulation (EC) 1683/95 laying down a uniform format for visas are as follows. Article 1(1) amends existing articles to include technical specifications regarding biometric data. Article 1(2) inserts a new Article 2(a) dealing with measures for the implementation of the regulation. Article 1(3) deals with conditions for inclusion of machine readable information. Article 1(4) states that a storage medium shall contain a facial image and two fingerprint images of the holder. Article 1(5) sets out the dates for implementation of the various elements. Article 2 provides the date the regulation shall enter into force.
The main provisions of Council regulation amending Council Regulation (EC) 1030/2002 laying down a uniform format for residence permits for third country nationals are as follows. Article 1(1) amends existing articles to include technical specifications regarding biometric data. Article 1(2) deals with conditions for inclusion of machine readable information. Article 1(3) states that a storage medium shall contain a facial image and two fingerprint images of the holder. Article 1(4) sets out the dates for implementation of the various elements. Article 2 provides the date the regulation shall enter into force.
I ask the committee to support Ireland's acceptance of these regulations and its opt in to the proposed regulations. These are important measures in regard to security of travel documents. Only last weekend the European Council endorsed the work in this area and it is essential that Ireland fully participates in these developments and we would appreciate the support of the committee for our proposal to do so.