You're reading: ADVERTISEMENT: “EDAPS” is ready for prompt transition to biometric passports in Ukraine

The Ukrainian Consortium for a couple of years introduced Ukraine into the World Elite Club of producers of electronic documents.

It is quite notorious that simplification of entrance regulations between Ukraine and EU may contribute to additional investments, decrease of national and social inequality, raise of employment and social standards in this country. This delicate approach to the situation from the Ukrainian authorities, diplomats and society becomes even more clear and vital on the threshold of the Ukraine –EU summit scheduled for November, 22, 2010, to say nothing of the coming EURO-2012.

One of the basic requirements of the EU to be fulfilled by Ukraine for abolition of the visa regime is transition to electronic (biometric) passports for travelling abroad. One should note that at the forthcoming Summit this problem would be one of the major issues on the agenda.

People’s Deputy, vice-chairman of the Verkhovna Rada’s Committee on foreign affairs, Ambassador Leonid Kozhara talking about the necessity to adopt an adequate legislation has also emphasized in this connection that "… in all other respects, i.e. technically Ukraine is ready to fulfil the EU requirements straight away". The MP is firmly convinced that by 2012 the Ukrainians would be able to travel to the EU countries without visas. This confidence is based on the fact that the EDAPS Consortium can introduce the biometric passports for travelling abroad very quickly and without involving foreign technologies or assistance. As it was stressed by Leonid Kozhara, «… to be more specific on production of protected documents, including passports, the country possesses technologies that are even better than those of many European countries. In particular, these technologies could be provided by the EDAPS Consortium».

The EDAPS Consortium is a Ukrainian company that is world known for its technologies in the sphere of protected printing, production of identification documents and information systems. The EDAPS has already successfully launched more than 300 large-scale projects both on the Ukrainian and international markets.

Since 2009 the EDAPS has been producing electronic (biometric) passports for the INTERPOL personnel. Representatives of the international police, UN (ICAO), OSCE, EU have appreciated protection quality of the documents developed and produced by the Consortium at its true high value. Regarding the new Ukrainian passport for travelling abroad that is produced by the EDAPS Consortium since 2007 (by the end of October 2010 the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine had issued more than 3.35 million of new passports), the INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble has pointed out: «This document amazes. I am not a Ukrainian citizen, but if I were, I would be proud of such a passport». In the course of the visit of the EU migration mission representatives to the EDAPS factories, the EU Commissioner Francisco Bataller has noted that «…in the EDAPS the security is organized better than in the Central Bank of Spain».

In 2008 the EDAPS Consortium has successfully launched a large-scale project in Kenya on creating, installing and putting into operation of the National Population Register with use of biometric technologies in unprecedentedly concise time-frame. The Ukrainian company has won the tender on this project among 25 leading international companies from 14 countries. Since 2008, experts of the Consortium have successfully implemented all stages of the Project providing Kenyan authorities and the population with information system providing supervision over social payments, quantities, time limits, issuance of travel passports, driver’s licences, ID cards etc.

One should also mention that according to the conclusion of authoritative periodical The Tobacco Atlas, Ukraine has the lowest level of tobacco goods smuggling in the world – 1,7% only of the total volume of the Ukrainian market. As it was mentioned by the magazine- this is the result of the comprehensive protection system for excise goods developed by the EDAPS with the use of optical elements.

Since 2008 the company takes part in creation of the world identification system for the DeBeers trade mark and production of diamonds certificates of high protection level that guarantee authenticity of the De Beers jewellery products. The appropriate agreement between the EDAPS and De Beers was signed in a day of opening of the first brand shop of De Beers in Kyiv. Now each piece-of-art product from De Beers gets its own identification passport that makes such jewellery counterfeit-proof for the next generations.

In October 2010 the EDAPS has introduced Ukraine into the World Elite Club of producers of equipment for documents personalization. At the INTERGRAF exhibition conference in Barcelona the Consortium presented its own system of laser engraving and electronic personalization of the identification documents.

The EDAPS has been several times rewarded for its social policy. Its branch companies have been many times recognized as best employers, best tax-payers etc. The Consortium employees enjoy free transportation to/from work, medical care centre service with own ambulance, stay at health resorts paid by the company. Enterprises of the Consortium have modern and well-developed social infrastructure. Taxes and duties paid by the EDAPS to the state budget of Ukraine total more than 1.3 billion UAH.

The Ukrainian negotiators at the coming Ukraine-EU summit might have solid arguments for their EU partners regarding the technical and technological ability of Ukraine to produce biometric passports in a short time without any participation of foreign companies.