The machine-readable and EU-conform biometric passport makes forgery more difficult, György Urbán said. The new burgundy-red passport will also carry the bearer’s digital fingerprint as of July 2009, he said.
In July, the EU approved a plan to insert electronic chips containing biometric data in the passports of citizens of member states. The deadline for including the data on the chip is July 1, 2009. Passports issued before August 29 can still be used until their expiry date, Urbán added.