Fingerprints will be added to electronic identity cards later than planned, the Het Belang van Limburg reported on Saturday.
They will probably not be added before September or October because current government affairs are taking precedent. The information was confirmed by Home Affairs minister Pieter De Crem’s cabinet.
The Chamber adopted a bill that would adapt the rules for the National Register in mid-November, by a non-opposed majority (the cdH chose to abstain). This bill would allow a representation of the person’s fingerprints to be added to their identity card chip, which would help combat identity theft.
The test phase should have started at the end of April, with the official introduction in June. But a spokesman for Mr De Crem said there would be a delay and no new date has been fixed yet.
“These delays have nothing to do with pressure groups: current government affairs had to be made a priority”, he said.
Not everyone is happy about fingerprints being added to the national identity cards. Brussels law firm SQ Law submitted an appeal against the move to the Constitutional Court.
The Brussels Times
