EU tells Italy to take migrants’ fingerprints by force if necessary

On Monday, the European Commission asked Italy to step up its efforts to collect migrants’ fingerprints and said to use force if necessary and to hold anyone who resists attempts at identification, according to a report by ANSA.

The report also said that only one of six migrant identification facilities are operational in Italy but that the EU expects two more to be opened within days.

Last week, the EU executive started legal procedures against Italy, Croatia and Greece for not registering migrants and refugees in the EU-wide fingerprint database, Eurodac, when they first
arrive on the continent. The Eurodac Regulation demands the fingerprinting of asylum seekers and transmission of that data to the Eurodac central system within 72 hours.

Article Topics

biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  criminal ID  |  EU  |  fingerprint database  |  Italy  |  law enforcement  |  refugee registration