28.5.2009 Official Journal of the European Union L 131/1 (Acts adopted under the EC Treaty/Euratom Treaty whose publication is obligatory) REGULATIONS REGULATION (EC) No 390/2009 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 23 April 2009 amending the Common Consular Instructions on visas for diplomatic missions and consular posts in relation to the introduction of biometrics including provisions on the organisation of the reception and processing of visa applications THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 62(2)(b)(ii) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the European Data Protection Supervisor (1), Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (3), Whereas: To ensure the reliable verification and identification of applicants, it is necessary to process biometric data in the Visa Information System (VIS) established by Council Decision 2004/512/EC (}) and to provide for a legal framework for the collection of these biometric iden- tifiers. Furthermore, the implementation of the VIS requires new forms of organisation for the reception of visa applications. () OJ C 321, 29.12.2006, p. 38. (®) Opinion of the European Parliament of 10 July 2008 (not yet published in the Official Journal), Council Common Position of 5 March 2009 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and Position of the European Parliament of 25 March 2009 (not yet published in the Official Journal). () O] L 213, 15.6.2004, p. 5. ) (‘) C) O] 0] The integration of biometric identifiers in the VIS is an important step towards the use of new elements, which establish a more reliable link between the visa holder and the passport in order to avoid the use of false identities. Therefore, the personal appearance of the applicant — at least for the first application — should be one of the basic requirements for issuing a visa with the registration of biometric identifiers in the VIS. The choice of the biometric identifiers is made in Regu- lation (EC) No 767/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 concerning the Visa Infor- mation System (VIS) and the exchange of data between Member States on short-stay visas (VIS Regulation) (*). This Regulation defines the standards for the collection of these biometric identifiers by referring to the relevant provisions set out by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). No further technical specifications are required in order to ensure interoperability. Any document, data or biometric identifier received by a Member State in the course of a visa application shall be considered a consular document under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 24 April 1963 and shall be treated in an appropriate manner. In order to facilitate the registration of applicants and to reduce the costs for Member States, new organisational possibilities need to be envisaged in addition to the existing framework of representation. Firstly, a specific type of representation limited to the collection of appli- cations and enrolment of biometric identifiers should be added to the Common Consular Instructions on visas for the diplomatic missions and consular posts (°). L 218, 13.8.2008, p. 60. C 326, 22.12.2005, p. 1.