- A strategic initiative towards EU-wide interoperability between national biometric-enabled VISA processing systems
- A strong recognition of Zetes’ biometric expertise in the European market
Brussels, April 05, 2007 - Zetes Industries (Euronext Brussels: ZTS) is proud to announce that it has been awarded BioDev II contracts for Germany and Belgium, two of the EU Member States participating in this very important project.
BioDev II is an experiment conducted by seven EU State Members in the Schengen zone plus the UK, under the aegis of the European Commission, and with Civipol Conseil in France as financial agent.
The principal aim of this experiment is to get customized biometric enrolment solutions developed for each of these eight EU State Members and integrated with their existing national VISA processing systems, and to test their interoperability. This trial should last 15 months in each country.
Following a rigorous selection process conducted by the BioDev II European Consortium, Zetes has been ranked in a very short list of authorized providers for this project.
Currently, Zetes has already been chosen for providing the German and Belgian administrations with BioDev II biometric enrolment solutions for VISA applicants.
Services to be delivered by Zetes include the supply, implementation, integration and technical support of country-customized hardware and software biometric solutions (with capture of fingerprints and ICAO-compliant pictures) for consulates, border control, central AFIS system (in collaboration with NEC) and secure communication systems between consulates, border checkpoints and national VISA systems.
Says Ronny Depoortere, Senior VP Zetes PASS (Personal Authentication and Security Services): “While modest in terms of budget, the BioDev II pilot-project is of strategic importance for EU Member States and also for Zetes as it can be the basis for standard and interoperable biometric VISA processing solutions at European level.
“By leveraging on our international People ID team of experts and competence centre (PASS), our proven biometric experience, and the leading and innovative software enrolment platforms of our affiliate, MetaForm, Zetes is well positioned to be an outstanding solution provider for nation-wide biometric projects in EMEA as it is now for e-ID projects”.
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