Oslobođenje: Even though the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sven Alkalaj optimistically announces issuing of biometric passports in the first half of year, that will not happen, regarding the fact that in the state budget the lot for these expenditures is – zero KM!
So far, let us go from the beginning. To issuing of biometric passports to the citizens of BiH impends the announcement of the international tender for procurement of these travel documents, which will be announced the latest in March. The deadline for issuing the passports by a measure of standard of the European Union, was confirmed by the Council of Ministers at the end of last year, has been confirmed by the sources of Oslobođenje from the Ministry of Civil Affairs of BiH.
Torments before the embassies
– Currently, the tender is being implemented for the procurement of apparatus which will be used for creation of chips on biometric passports at the Agency for Identification Documents, Evidence and Exchange of Data (former CIPS), after which has been planned to levy the one for the travel documents. If everyone takes this seriously, it is possible for us to respect the June deadline for issuing the new passports, has been said by our interlocutor.
For the procurement of equipment for the agency, in this year's state budget an allocation of 2.710.000 KM has been planned. Normally, this is a third deadline by which our country should ensure all pre-conditions for the beginning of issuing of biometric travel documents. Besides Croatia, to which liberalization (read: abolition) of visas is not a condition from the "Map of the path" because it has been long since its citizens have been exempted from a painful waiting in rows in front of the world embassies, BiH is the only country of the West Balkans which has not started the process of issuing of biometric passports.
Earning of the state institutions from issuing the passports
2008. 5.500.000 KM (BiH) 1.700.000 (abroad)
2009. 7.500.000 KM (BiH) 2.200.000 (abroad)
The first deadline was October 2008., but it has been broken because of waiting on the adoption of changes and amendments of the Law on Travel Documents, which have been soused in the parliamentary procedure for almost a half of year. Second deadline, March 2009., will not be respected right because of the necessity of levying the international tender, which is in accordance with the Law on Public Procurements of BiH.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sven Alkalaj optimistically announces the first half of this year.
– The Action plan stipulates that in this year should start issuing of biometric travel documents. I think that it should be started as soon as possible and I will personally plead myself that the first biometric passport comes in the first half, but not at the end of the year, Alkalaj has said by pointing out how his ministry creates conditions for the diplomatic-consular network to start creating biometric passports abroad.
– Meanwhile, there are some other significant obligations, more efficient control of the border, protection of personal data of citizens, and control of issuing of personal documents. Fulfilling these obligations from the "Map of the path" will surely open a way for us towards the regime without visas with the European Union, Alkalaj claims.
What does the chip contain?
It has been stated how the new passport contains a non-contact electronic memory element (chip). In harmonization with that, with the request for issuing of travel document the one is obligated to give their personal biometric data which imply – photograph, fingerprint and signature. Travel documents will apply for five years, and the children younger than the age of seven will be issued the travel documents of three years.
Findings of Oslobođenje, unfortunately, do not go in behalf of optimism of the minister. Despite of the citations in the changes and amendments of the Law on Travel Documents of BiH, in the budgets of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the agency there is no a financial lot for the procurement of biometric travel documents.
Without solace
In the legal act it has been stated that in the budget for a current year for the procurement of 700.000 biometric travel documents there will be 26.739.300 KM allocated. Our interlocutor from the departmental ministry has said that the European commission has been agreeing on the possibility to provide a certain contingent of those travel documents from the funds of the Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA). In the budget of the state institutions there has been a lot of 8.000.000 KM from the IPA funds, but when the total sum would be directed to the procurement of new passports, that would be enough for the procurement of everything and a bit more than 200.000 passport booklets.
Even though by the legal act it has been stipulated that the current travel documents issued by a day of the beginning of application of its provisions will be in use by the deadline marked in the passport, this is not any kind of solace: all the embassies in BiH will right after issuing the new passports demand from the citizens that document for getting visas. The state institutions have earned in last year 7.2 million KM from issuing the passports in BiH and abroad, and this year that sum will be even 9.7 million KM.