The European Union this week will review a proposal that will require all non-European travelers to submit biometrics when entering the region.
From media reports the program sounds similar to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s US VISIT program. If a citizen needs a traveler to enter the EU their fingerprints could be collected when they apply for a visa. For other travelers, such as U.S. citizens, the biometrics would be collected when they first enter the EU.
European citizens would be considered “registered travelers,” according to the International Herald Tribune. Instead of having to go through checkpoints and be interviewed by border officials they would have their travel documents scanned by machines at automated checkpoints.
The commission’s proposals cover the Schengen zone, Europe’s internal free-travel area that includes 24 countries. It is unclear whether Britain and Ireland, which along with Cyprus are not members of Schengen, would opt into the program.
The border security proposal will go to the European Commission this week. If approved all EU states would need to approve the measure.
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