§ Mr. Deakinsasked the Lord Privy Seal what advantages there will be for United Kingdom passport holders in having a common EEC format of passport.
§ Sir Ian GilmourWe have said that we will introduce the European Community common format passport only when we are ready to adopt simultaneously the ICAO recommendations for a passport with machine-readable capability. The introduction of the new passport will bring practical benefits to both passport holders and immigration authorities. The worldwide adoption of machine-readable passports in a common format together with automated port procedures will allow travellers to be processed more quickly and effectively. The machine-readable passport also offers greater security since it is difficult to counterfeit or tamper with. The trend towards machine-readability has already begun with the recent introduction of machine-readable passports by the United States of America.
The European Community common format will additionally symbolise world wide our membership of the European Community.