US embassy cable - 04LJUBLJANA1092

UNCLAS LJUBLJANA 001092 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
DEPT FOR CA/VO/F/P (DLOPES DA ROSA); EUR/NCE (VTRIMM); EUR/PPD 
(ARUPPE, FSCHMADEL); AND ECA/PE/V/R/E (KHAVENNER) 
DHS FOR BCBP (CRONIN); USEU FOR POL/PRM (MMEZNAR); ROME AND VIENNA 
FOR DHS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CMGT, PREL, KPAO, SI 
SUBJECT: SLOVENE BIOMETRIC PASSPORT UPDATE 
 
REFTEL:   LJUBLJANA 00877 
 
1. (U) SUMMARY: Slovenia will begin issuing a first-phase 
biometric passport containing photo recognition data before 
October 26, 2005.  A second-phase biometric passport incorporating 
both photo recognition and fingerprints will be introduced at a 
later date, in compliance with new EU requirements.  With the 
introduction of the new biometric passport, Slovenia will also 
introduce new procedures for delivering passports to their owners. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
2. (U) Fresh back from meeting with officials of other EU member 
states, Slovene contacts said the EU decision on a uniform 
standard for biometric passports has been made and will be 
finalized by mid-January 2005.  The EU standard will mandate two 
biometric identifiers: 1) facial recognition, with a deadline for 
implementation of 18 months from the adoption of the standard, and 
2) fingerprints, with a deadline for implementation of 36 months 
from the date of adoption of the standard. 
 
3. (U) With the EU standard finally set, the Slovene authorities 
see a clear road ahead.  In a meeting December 3 with Conoff, 
State Undersecretaries Bojan Trnovsek of the Ministry of Interior, 
and Vlasta Valencic-Pelikan and Andrej Ster of the MFA's Consular 
Department, said they expect to have the new Slovene passport 
completed by June or July 2005 - within the timeframe they had 
predicted earlier (Reftel).  They expect to begin issuing the new 
passport no later than October 26, 2005. 
 
4. (SBU) Trnovsek said the new passport would feature a contact- 
less chip imbedded in the polycarbonate bio-data page.  The chip 
would be loaded with facial recognition data, biographic data, a 
digitized image of the applicant's signature, and all necessary 
public infrastructure data.  He said Slovenia would need to adopt 
a new law on passports consistent with data protection 
requirements.  He expects the new legislation will be ready to 
submit to Parliament by late February or early March. 
 
5. (U) By the October 26, 2005 deadline imposed by U.S. law for 
Visa Waiver Program travelers, Slovenia will have transitioned 
completely to issuing only the new biometric passports.  There 
will be no option to apply for a non-biometric passport. 
Additionally, Slovenia will change the way passports are delivered 
to applicants.  Slovene authorities will discontinue delivering 
passports to applicants by post.  Instead, all applicants will be 
required to pick up their passports in person at the 
Administrative Unit in their area.  At the time of pickup the 
authorized official will verify the accuracy of all information 
loaded on the chip with the Interior Ministry's centralized 
database, and compare the digitized photo image with the applicant 
in person.  At this time, the applicant too will have the 
opportunity to read and verify the accuracy of information loaded 
on the chip. 
 
6. (U) Trnovsek said Slovenia is in excellent shape to begin 
issuing biometric passports, noting that Slovenia's current photo 
standard (600 DPI), which exceeds the ICAO standard (300 DPI), is 
sufficient for facial recognition.  The digitized signature 
currently used in Slovene passports is also suitable for loading 
in a chip, and Slovenia already has a centralized database for 
passport data. 
 
7. (U) In discussing the challenges of incorporating both facial 
recognition and fingerprints in a contact-less chip, Trnovsek and 
Ster said that currently chips of sufficient capacity, quality, 
and reliability are not available in sufficient numbers and at 
reasonable prices.  But they said such chips would undoubtedly be 
available soon.  They also discussed the issue of validity. 
Slovene authorities have yet to decide whether their biometric 
passport will be valid for 10 years (as is the current passport), 
or for less.  They said it is unclear whether chips will last for 
10 years, or that chip manufacturers will guarantee the 
functioning of their products for 10 years. 
 
8. (U) Ster said plans to conduct a pilot study to test the 
biometric passport in real world environments have been dropped 
(REFTEL).  Instead, the passport will be tested under controlled 
conditions before its introduction. 
 
ROBERTSON 
 
 
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