UNNUMBERED DOCUMENT

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM ON A EUROPEAN UNION DOCUMENT

Proposal for a Council Regulation laying down the form of the laissez-passer issued by the European Union

Submitted by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 31 October 2013.

SUBJECT MATTER

1.  The attached document seeks Council agreement for an upgrade to the existing EU laissez-passer to achieve enhanced security standards and to contribute to ensuring a proper level of protection against, forgery, counterfeiting and falsification.

2.  The laissez-passer is a travel document that the EU issues to officials working for the various institutions and bodies in order to ease and facilitate travel on official business, including when taking up postings in third countries. Other International Organisations such as the United Nations also provide this service for their staff travelling overseas.

3.  The laissez-passer is issued under Article 6(1) of the Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Communities, annexed to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Under the Protocol, the Commission has concluded agreements with more than 130 third countries whereby the laissez-passer is recognised as a valid travel document within their territory. The Commission issued 1,145 laissez-passers in 2012 and 1,173 in 2011.

4.  The EU Laissez-passer has been in use since 1969. In this time, it has not been substantially updated or modified. Its security features are out of date and the document contains handwritten markings and an easily detachable photograph. This means that it no longer guarantees the level of security expected of this type of travel document and is therefore poorly protected against counterfeiting and falsification. This has led to a small number of countries refusing to recognise the laissez-passer and on occasion, EU officials travelling with a laissez-passer have encountered difficulties at border crossings.

SCRUTINY HISTORY

5.  Discussions on an upgraded laissez-passer began in 2007 but were temporarily suspended in 2009. An Explanatory Memorandum on a Draft Council Regulation laying down the form of the laissez-passer issued to members and servants of the institution was submitted for Parliamentary Scrutiny on 31 January 2008. The House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee cleared the document as “not legally or politically important” on 6 February 2008 (ESC 29356, 13th Report, Session 2007/08). The House of Lords Select Committee on the European Union cleared the document on 21 February 2008 after referral to Sub-Committee E. The 2008 Council Decision has been replaced by the current document.

MINISTERIAL RESPONSIBILITY

6.  The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs is the Minister

With overall responsibility for UK policy on the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy. Given the subject matter, the Home Secretary also has an interest.

INTEREST OF THE DEVOLVED ADMINISTRATIONS

7.  The devolved administrations have been consulted in the preparation of this EM.

POLICY IMPLICATIONS

8.  The Government agrees that EU officials must be able to operate safely and securely, particularly when travelling to or posted to difficult locations. The EU is not the only international organisation to issue laissez-passers to its employees; indeed, both the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross have their own laissez-passers.

9.  The Government view is that it is important that as the laissez-passer is an accepted form of travel documentation it should comply with EU and international standards and meet the minimum security requirements, not least to protect the UK’s own borders. The existing EU laissez-passer does not meet any of the EU document specifications or International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) recommendations enshrined in ICAO document 9303. Although we are not aware of cases where the EU laissez-passer has been compromised, our view is that at present it is susceptible to misuse given the outdated print standards that it contains and the lack of high security protection devises commonly found in modern documents. We therefore welcome the fact that the technical details set out in the draft Regulation seem in line with ICAO recommendations.

10.  It is proposed that security elements on the upgraded laissez-passer will include an electronic chip containing the person data printed in the passport, as well as a digital version of face and fingerprint biometrics. However, no database containing biometrics will be created – data will remain solely on the passport. This regulation will have minimal effect on British citizens, except for those employed by or on secondment to the EU who will be issued with these documents.

SUBSIDIARITY

11.  As a document issued by the EU to its officials, it is appropriate that this should be considered at EU level.

LEGAL AND PROCEDURAL ISSUES

12.  Legal Basis: Article 6 (1) of the Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Communities annexed to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

13.  Voting Procedures: Simple majority.

14.  Impact on UK Law: None.

15.  Application to Gibraltar: Yes, in that holders of the EU laissez-passer could travel to Gibraltar.

16.  Fundamental rights analysis: No fundamental rights issues apply.

APPLICATION TO THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA

17.  None (except that holders of the EU laissez-passer could travel to EEA countries).

REGULATORY IMPACT ASSESSMENT

18.  Not applicable.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

19.  Exact costs will depend on the final technical specifications agreed during the course of discussions. However, initial Commission estimates are as follows:

·  €200,000: initial cost to launch the laissez-passer;

·  €15,000: additional costs per enrolment station (proposal is for one per institution);

·  15% of initial costs per annum thereafter for maintenance and upgrades;

·  £30,000 to join the ICAO Public Key Directory;

·  £20,000 per annum membership fee for the ICAO PKD.

20.  The Commission states that the upgrade will be covered from its administrative budget on a cost-neutral basis. We have asked for further details of how this will be achieved.

TIMETABLE

21.  The Presidency hopes that the Council Regulation can be agreed by Coreper by the end of November and then by Council before the end of the year.

OTHER OBSERVATIONS

22.  The current document is a first draft of a Council Regulation. We expect this to change slightly during the course of ongoing discussions on the technical details. We will update the Committees if these changes are of a more substantial nature than minor technical amendments.

The Rt Hon David Lidington MP

Minister for Europe

Foreign and Commonwealth Office