Germany unveils 'e-passport', hopes U.S. flexible

[Kellanved]

BERLIN – Germany said on Wednesday it would narrowly miss a U.S. deadline to start issuing new electronic passports but expressed optimism Washington would be flexible towards it and its EU partners.
The United States has set an Oct. 26 deadline by which Japan, Australia and 25 mainly European countries must start rolling out the passports in order for their citizens to continue to enjoy visa-free U.S. visits of up to 90 days.


Interior Minister Otto Schily said Germany would be ready from Nov. 1 with the new travel documents, in which the holder's personal details and digital photograph will be stored on an electronic chip to enhance security.

Germany is one of the first European Union states to introduce the new passports. Asked if the slight German delay and the longer waits elsewhere would cause problems, given the Oct. 26 cut-off, Schily said: 'It could be, speaking in the conditional, that the Americans don't stick to this deadline.'

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http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20050601-1145-security-germany-passports.html

Note: the biometric data will be only on the passport and not be stored centrally. However, at the US border it will get read and the data possibly stored.