US embassy cable - 05LJUBLJANA116

UNCLAS LJUBLJANA 000116 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR CA/VO/F/P (DLOPES DA ROSA); EUR/NCE (VTRIM); 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: SLOVENIA PROVIDES DETAILS OF NEW BIOMETRIC PASSPORT 
PROGRAM - CAN MEET OCTOBER DEADLINE, BUT MORE TIME WOULD BE 
HELPFUL 
 
REF: (A)  STATE 023029   (B) 2002 LJUBLJANA 0940 
 
Sensitive but Unclassified - Please Protect Accordingly 
 
1. (U) The Government of Slovenia anticipates being able to begin 
issuing a new biometric passport by the October 26, 2005, deadline 
imposed by the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act 
(EBSVERA).  The new passport will incorporate a number of new 
classical security upgrades in addition to a contact-less chip. 
 
2. (U) Conoff discussed Slovenia's biometric passport program in a 
meeting February 16 that included State Secretary Vinko Gorenak 
and State Undersecretary Bojan Trnovsek of Slovenia's Interior 
Ministry (MoI), and State Undersecretaries Vlasta Valencic-Pelikan 
and Andrej Ster of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' (MFA) Consular 
Department.  They provided response to questions posed in REF A as 
follows: 
 
3. (U) Project manager for the biometric passport is MoI's State 
Undersecretary Bojan Trnovsek, who was a participant in the 
Department's Voluntary Visitor program on biometric passports in 
July 2004. 
 
4. (U) The Slovenes were unable to give a timeline for pilot 
testing.  They said actual tests on passports for durability, 
operability, etc., would commence when a contractor is selected to 
produce the passport.  In the meantime, Trnovsek said, the MoI is 
testing other elements of the biometric system, including 
equipment and procedures for capturing, storing, transmitting, and 
reading the digitized facial image.  The MoI is also upgrading its 
computer system to be capable of storing biometric facial images, 
signatures, and eventually fingerprints, all of which will be 
accessible to Police and the 58 local Administrative Units in 
Slovenia, as well to Slovenia's Border Police. 
 
5. (SBU) The Slovene team acknowledged that while the project 
still faces some technical challenges, none are expected to delay 
or imperil deployment of the passport by the October deadline. 
Still, they made clear that should more time be available, it 
would be a definite benefit.  "Slovenia is not asking for more 
time," suggested Ster, "but any extension would be warmly 
welcomed." 
 
6. (SBU) Gorenak said Slovenia would publish a tender within the 
next few weeks seeking bids for producing Slovenia's new biometric 
passport.  Gorenak, who is head of the inter-ministerial group 
preparing the tender, stressed that the call for bids would be 
"completely open," and would be aimed at attracting international 
bidders.  Gorenak made reference to recent accounts in the Slovene 
press that questioned the openness of the bidding process (under 
the previous LDS government in 2000) that awarded contracts to the 
two Slovene companies (CETIS and Mirage) that currently produce 
Slovene passports (REF B).  Gorenak said the MoI (under the new 
SDS-led government) had recently stopped these contracts with 
CETIS and Mirage because they had been concluded without 
appropriate controls to assure free and open competition.  Gorenak 
said one of the requirements of the new contract for the biometric 
passport will be that it be produced in Slovenia.  (COMMENT: The 
Slovene press has for years alleged that close ties to the then 
ruling LDS party won CETIS and Mirage lucrative contracts to 
produce Slovene passports. END COMMENT.) 
 
7. (U) Trnovsek said legislative changes are needed to implement 
the new biometric passport.  He said the MoI is preparing the 
changes and expects to introduce them in May.  In describing the 
non-biometric, or "classical" security enhancements planned for 
the new passport, he listed six new features that will make it 
easier to identify photo-substitutions and other alterations to 
the passport. 
 
 
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 2005LJUBLJ00116 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED 


 
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