U.S. Decides to Fingerprint European Travelers

Tourists from 22 European countries have long travelled to the United States relatively hassle-free and without a visa. But as of September 30, they -- along with visitors from five other countries -- will be digitally fingerprinted and photographed, according to a recent announcement by the United States' Department of Homeland Security.

The decision extends the use of the practice already applied to visitors from countries requiring a visa to those travelling from so-called "visa waiver" countries. It is largely seen as a compromise solution at a time when Europe and the U.S. can't see eye-to-eye on biometric requirements.

Washington officials have been demanding that countries, including Germany, France and Great Britain, issue new passports with biometric details by October 26. But when those countries complained that it was impossible to meet the request in such a short period of time, a two-year extension was granted. The U.S. nonetheless decided to proceed with the fingerprinting and photographing to close that loophole.

A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security says both will take seconds, but travel industry experts worry they will act as a deterrent, further driving down the already slumping U.S. tourism market. Meanwhile, the European Parliament and the European Commission are still locked in a battle over whether or not to cede to another U.S. security demand and hand over airline passenger data.

Travel experts concerned

In theory, the fingerprints and photographs will only take seconds, according to Asa Hutchinson, an undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security, who says the move will not deter visitors.

But in an ever-more insecure world where the time required by added security seems to increase delays, it's hard to say what kind of affect the practice will have on an already declining market. Since Sept. 11, inbound overseas travel to the U.S. has declined by 30 percent.

The Travel Industry Association of America (TIA) doesn't want to see those numbers decline further, and issued a statement on Friday. "While we appreciate the rationale for the federal government's action, TIA is nonetheless greatly disappointed and very concerned about potential negative reactions in key inbound tourism markets from western Europe, Japan and other important visa waiver countries," said William S. Norman, president and CEO of the TIA.

Indeed, visitors from those countries account for a significant part of the U.S. travel market: in 2002, almost 13 million of the 19 million overseas visitors came from the 27 countries affected by the new security decision.

Still haggling over airline passenger data

On the whole, however, European government officials have accepted the U.S. decision, while other countries, including Brazil and China, have publicly protested and warned of reprisals. "UK passengers will understand why the U.S. has introduced these safety measures," said a statement issued by the UK foreign office.

Meanwhile, some EU officials have proven far less understanding of another U.S. security demand to turn over extensive airline passenger data. Members of the European Parliament have threatened to take the European Commission to the EU's highest court if it doesn't withdraw a decision to transfer air passenger data to U.S. authorities. The parliament issued a non-binding resolution on Thursday, calling on the commission to negotiate with Washington for a better deal.

At issue is the extent of the data transfer. European Parliament representatives feel only 19 categories of data should be relayed, instead of the 34 negotiated by the commission. According to the resolution, "Such access is illegal under member state and EU privacy laws."

Both sides will continue to debate the issue this week.