The Hungarian government has announced that it will introduce the first set of biometric passports from 2006, in line with requirements approved by the European Commission on December 13, 2004

The Hungarian government has announced that it will introduce the first set of biometric passports from 2006, in line with requirements approved by the European Commission on December 13, 2004. "Biometric implies all the bearer's measurable, physical features, like recognized facial and fingerprint geometry, to confirm their identity," Zoltán Varga, spokesman for the legal and administrative department of the interior ministry's Central Data Processing, Registration and Election Office told The Budapest Sun. Varga added that these would store digital compact files on an electronic chip holding all provided personal data. Varga said, "Once the EC's Article 6 Committee gives the green light for the secret specifications [including the chip, data processing and reading systems] there will be a general standard in August 2006 where all member states' passports must include facial recognition within 18 months." He explained that there are several open issues on which EU members states must reach consensus before the new passports can be introduced. "The EU must also set up a central register to process all this data by 2007," said Varga. Those who travel to the US are already required to have their fingerprints taken and use a machine-readable passport.