Interior Ministry Defends Tender for New ID Numbers System

Bratislava, July 9 (TASR) - The Interior Ministry on Monday in reaction to For the People party member Veronika Remisova's criticism of the ministry's aim of replacing the so-called 'birth numbers' used for IDs with personal identification numbers also known as identifiers of natural persons (IFO) that this change has been contemplated for a long time as it's meant to be a basic component of public administration systems. The ministry added that the legislation that will allow for the change has been in the works since 2010. "From the very beginning, [the legislation] speaks about a gradual introduction of identifiers over a span of ten years, which the EU is calling on us to do," stated the ministry, adding that the OECD also recommends that Slovakia should use IFOs in the interests of public security. Remisova called on Interior Minister Denisa Sakova (Smer-SD) on Monday to publish tender documentation for this project immediately, as for an unknown reason she hasn't done so yet. Remisova also signalled that she'll file a complaint with the Supreme Audit Office (NKU) with the aim of having the tender checked. The ministry replied that the tender was called in January 2013, in line with rules valid at that time, adding that the tender documentation passed a preliminary check. "By no means do we object to Ms. Remisova looking into the documentation," it stated. According to Remisova, the whole process could cost the state hundreds of millions of euros. She's concerned that the ministry is proposing that the system should be launched as soon as possible, i.e. shortly before the next general election. At the same time it hasn't presented any estimates regarding how much the move could cost. The ministry is of the opinion that the current birth numbers don't meet the requirements of modern information systems. It claims that it would be problematic to generate new birth numbers without cases of duplication after 2053. zel/df/ko