ID card rollout begins

[Roland Perry]

In article <48DBF260.1000401@iosis.co.uk>, Peter Tomlinson 
<pwt@iosis.co.uk> writes
>The problem of checking/verifying foreign passports (at least doing it 
>quickly, easily and with confidence) has not yet been solved for 
>passports originating in many parts of the world

It seems implausible that this would apply to US passports, which are 
probably one of the largest constituents of the "non-EAA" immigrants to 
the UK [1]. Plenty of countries still have special visa concessions for 
holders of US passports. But is every foreign national living here to be 
tarred by some lowest common denominator foreign passport?

>Better to do one thorough (sic) check and then issue a local credential 
>that can be satisfactorily checked locally.

And having done that through check, why isn't it sufficiently trusted by 
our european partners - so that holders of such an ID card can travel 
within the EEA using the card rather than their apparently 
more-difficult-to-verify passport?

Or put another way - why isn't the "locally" in your expression "all the 
EAA".

[1] Declaring an interest, as I'm sure many regular readers appreciate, 
my wife of the last 20 years (anniversary coming up next month) has an 
American passport and therefore we have direct personal experience of 
many of these issues.
-- 
Roland Perry