The Visa Information System (or "smart gates", as it is also called) is a single European bank of visa data, to which the national immigration services of the European Union countries will supply information. From there, consulates will be able to quickly obtain data on persons applying for entry into EU countries. For law-abiding citizens, such a system will simplify and speed up the procedure for obtaining documents. And for illegal immigrants, it will make it almost impossible. The VIS will contain not only photographs and textual information about candidates, but also biometric data (fingerprints and iris scans).
In this regard, one of the representatives of the legal committee of the European Commission, Jan de Koyster, explained that it is extremely important to find a balance between security interests, on the one hand, and compliance with the law on the protection of private life, on the other. According to Mr. Koyster, "it is also important not to forget that this is not just about arithmetic. This is about politics."
According to this official, at the last meeting of the European Commission held on January 7, this balance was nevertheless found and the final regulations of the VIS system were approved. It defines the responsibility of the interested parties, the conditions and procedures for the exchange of information. True, the details are not yet known to the general public. Relative clarity will appear only after the discussion of the reform begins in the European Parliament. Parliamentarians will take it up in the near future. In the event of a positive outcome, the VIS will only start operating at the beginning of 2007.