wilfy
11-06-2005, 00:31
Article in todays Daily Telegraph.
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:
America is offering to compromise over its demand for hi-tech passports from British and other European visitors, which the travel industry says would bring chaos to transatlantic travel.
But while the deal, proposed by congressman James Sensenbrenner, would exempt British and most European tourists and business people from the requirement, it would impose harsh restrictions on French and Italian visitors.
The mooted compromise follows a European Union request that Congress once again delay the implementation of legislation ordering Britain and 26 other close American allies to introduce so-called biometric passports - with a chip encoded with the holder's digital photograph and fingerprints - by October.
About 15 million tourists, including four million Britons, use the current scheme whereby they can enter the US without a visa for up to 90 days.
Now the congressman has suggested that America could reinterpret existing rules to allow continued visa-free access for most Europeans.
Congress would state that those passports with digitally scanned photographs are "biometric enough".
But there are still some EU passports, notably some issued by France and Italy, which continue to bear non-digital laminated photographs, which are seen as less secure. Visitors from these two countries would need visas.[/quote]
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:
America is offering to compromise over its demand for hi-tech passports from British and other European visitors, which the travel industry says would bring chaos to transatlantic travel.
But while the deal, proposed by congressman James Sensenbrenner, would exempt British and most European tourists and business people from the requirement, it would impose harsh restrictions on French and Italian visitors.
The mooted compromise follows a European Union request that Congress once again delay the implementation of legislation ordering Britain and 26 other close American allies to introduce so-called biometric passports - with a chip encoded with the holder's digital photograph and fingerprints - by October.
About 15 million tourists, including four million Britons, use the current scheme whereby they can enter the US without a visa for up to 90 days.
Now the congressman has suggested that America could reinterpret existing rules to allow continued visa-free access for most Europeans.
Congress would state that those passports with digitally scanned photographs are "biometric enough".
But there are still some EU passports, notably some issued by France and Italy, which continue to bear non-digital laminated photographs, which are seen as less secure. Visitors from these two countries would need visas.[/quote]