Now the UK has removed the inscription 'European Union' from the covers of its passports
The Home Office, which was contacted via Twitter by a British citizen expressing her 'surprise' at the new passport design, replied that old passports already issued would continue to be handed out. As RFI notes, both types of passports are accepted by border services.
The common format of the burgundy European passport was established by a European Council resolution in 1981, 'to strengthen the sense of belonging to a single union among European citizens' and facilitate border crossings. British blue passports will be issued 'at the end of 2019,' the British Home Office reported.
The tender for the production of new passports was won by the French company Gemalto, to the displeasure of Brexit supporters who believed the contract should have gone to a British company.