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FactCheck: Was the burgundy passport 'enforced' on Britain when it joined the EU?

Today the Conservative Party said the UK’s exit from the EU gives it an opportunity to restore its national identity.

TODAY THE SUN Newspaper in the UK declared a “stunning victory” as it reported the news that the British passport will revert back to its blue cover after Brexit.

The UK’s Home Office said this was a “move to symbolise our national identity”.

Prime Minister Theresa May said the UK passport is an expression of the nation’s “independence and sovereignty”.

There has been debate about this move today, however, as the UK government is implying it could not have issued blue passports as a member of the EU.

In the Sun’s report, it also suggested the design had been forced on the UK. Let’s put the claim to the test.

Claim: The burgundy colour for passports was “enforced” on the UK.

What was said:

In its story today, The Sun said the UK government had “agreed to our [The Sun's] demand to scrap the EU’s burgundy model, enforced on the nation from 1988″.

Theresa May also said the return of the blue passport will happen after Britain leaves the EU.

“Leaving the EU gives us a unique opportunity to restore our national identity and forge a new path for ourselves in the world,” May’s Conservative party said in a statement about the passport change.

The facts

There have been a number of EU regulations over the years dealing with passport uniformity. One resolution in 1981 says the passport should be “burgundy red” in colour.

However, further resolutions in 2004 did not make reference to the colour of the front cover.

It is worth noting here that not all member state passports have burgundy covers. Most EU passports are some shade of red, but the passport for Croatia, which joined the EU in 2013, is dark blue.

In August 2015, Ranko Ostojic, the Croatian interior minister, told the Večernji List newspaper that the EU’s position is that there is no obligation to change the colour of the passport.

“Not all European passports are burgundy red, they range from brown to burgundy to dark red. We are not going to change our colour, just add the European Union title.”

In his 2017 book ‘What has the EU Ever Done for Us? How the European Union Changed Britain’, David Charter quotes a European Commission spokesperson, who confirmed  resolutions are non-binding and “there are still some differences between the various models of passports issued by the member states”.

The spokesperson said the 2004 regulations achieved harmonisation on security features and biometrics.

“However format and layout as well as issuing procedures remain within the competence of the Member States,” they said.

In its own statement today, the Conservative party said the burgundy colour “was adopted” by the UK. It does not say this decision was forced upon the government.

Verdict

There are EU resolutions that reference the burgundy colour, but they are not legally binding and style decisions like that are at the discretion of each members state.

The British government made the decision to take on the EU-style by voluntarily going along with non-binding decisions on uniformity.

Taking all the facts into consideration, we rate this claim: FALSE.

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    Mute Tweety McTweeter
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 3:11 PM

    It’s all making sense now. The UK are leaving the EU because they want to change the colour of their passports. It’s genius.

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    Mute alphanautica
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 3:22 PM

    @Tweety McTweeter: it’s a huge win for the UK, Brexit now makes complete sense.
    Their national identity will literally be of a colour of their own choosing.

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    Mute Tweety McTweeter
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 3:46 PM

    @alphanautica:

    They will be able to travel to less countries with it but who cares?! It’s a different colour!

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    Mute Austin Rock
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 4:55 PM

    @Tweety McTweeter: and they will no longer be known as the UK, it will be “GREAT Britain and the little bit of Ireland no one wants”.

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    Mute Edmund John Thomas Murphy
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 7:11 PM

    @alphanautica: off white?

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    Mute Tim Adams
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 7:12 PM

    @Austin Rock: look up the act of union 1801, it became United kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, then after our indepence became the UK of GB and NI . The European Union was only founded after the second world war

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    Mute Pizyco
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 8:57 PM

    @Tweety McTweeter: and when they have to join the non EU Q travelling in Europe they can delight in the colour of the passport ….genius….the pi$$ing down your leg strategy ….a warm feeling but achieves nothing…

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    Mute Tom&Gerry
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 9:13 PM

    @Austin Rock: Speak for yourself there Austin, Northern Ireland will join with the south one day, no thanks to the likes of you.

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    Mute meatyslaps
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 3:10 PM

    A claim from The Sun is false? Well I never expected that.

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    Mute Talleyrand Frye
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 6:25 PM

    @meatyslaps: The Sun has also announced the new national anthem for the United Kingdom (although to the same tune as the old one).

    Altogether now….

    Our economy’s up the flue
    At least our passport is blue
    Good riddance the EU
    Give us bananas bent
    But no more migrants
    Let’s outlaw common sense
    Good riddance the EU

    33
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    Mute Stephen Kearon
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 8:26 PM

    @meatyslaps: I’m more surprised at The Journal claiming the Sun is a real newspaper :-)

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    Mute Conor Flood
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 3:14 PM

    Great non news for the brexiteers . They’ve found a fiver after losing a grand .

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    Mute Link
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 3:23 PM

    @Conor Flood:Finding a fiver after losing £50,000,000,000 up front, plus add ons in the Form of higher tariffs on trade. Blue is a nice colour though.

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    Mute Bingobango
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 3:22 PM

    I’d love a green passport in fairness

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    Mute lavbeer
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 3:26 PM

    @Bingobango: sure just buy on those covers – sorted. Showing your age though … lol

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    Mute Derek Walsh
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 4:47 PM

    @Bingobango: There are many people in Ireland who are delighted that they’ve been able to exchange their green passport for a burgundy one.

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    Mute Seán O'Nilbud
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 6:00 PM

    @Derek Walsh: There are far more who don’t give a shit.

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    Mute Sean Conway
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 7:36 PM

    @Bingobango: What shade of green would you like?

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    Mute Bingobango
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 8:21 PM

    @Sean Conway: Old school Dublin bus green

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    Mute Tom&Gerry
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 9:16 PM

    @Derek Walsh: And there are many people who are not.

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    Mute Seán Dillon
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 3:39 PM

    There’s more and more Brits looking for a harp on theirs since Brexit.

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    Mute Danny Rafferty
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 9:53 PM

    @Con O’Driscoll: Lol. Nice one.

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    Mute Brian Corcoran
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 3:13 PM

    I suppose when absolutely everything is going wrong for you then you’ll have to look for any little victory. Imagine fussing about the colour of your passport.

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    Mute Mick Tobin
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 3:38 PM

    Poor Brits, the coat of arms motto on the passport is still in French.

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    Mute Cindy Crawford
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 3:37 PM

    I want my passport to be green. I just don’t feel Irish with a burgundy one.

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    Mute Noxious Jellyfish
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 3:45 PM

    @Cindy Crawford: I had one of those before. They are temporary travel, issued that day but only have 10 pages. And they’re only valid for 6 months.

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    Mute Noel James Doherty
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 4:00 PM

    @Cindy Crawford: with a shamrock replacing the harp too

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    Mute Liam Byrne
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 4:01 PM

    I hope Brexit is worth your “iconic” blue passport.

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    Mute Dermot Lane
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 4:43 PM

    @Liam Byrne: thing is before it was burgundy it wasn’t blue it was black. So the blue isn’t iconic at all

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    Mute JJ Sharkey
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 4:54 PM

    They can stand in the long line at passport control when entering the EU but they can admire their ‘lovely” passports to kill the time.

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    Mute Ted Murray
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 8:03 PM

    @JJ Sharkey: __ They’ll be burgundy with rage after standing in the queue with the “others” for three hours.

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    Mute Alanearls
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 3:11 PM

    I found a blue Irish passport on the bus one day, turns out if you are granted asylum or citizenship you get a blue one not the burgundy colour

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    Mute Gerard
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 3:15 PM

    @Alanearls: If you are granted citizenship you get a citizen’s (normal) passport. Asylum ones would be issued to non-citizens who need identity documents but have no other State willing or able to issue them, and would state something else under nationality, in spite of it being issued by Ireland.

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    Mute Hurt Stoogie
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 3:22 PM

    @Alanearls: if you get citizenship, you apply them for a passport, and get the same as the rest of us.

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    Mute lavbeer
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 3:25 PM

    @Gerard: So why would we give a passport to someone who isn’t entitled? I never heard of this blue passport.

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    Mute Alanearls
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 3:42 PM
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    Mute lavbeer
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 4:07 PM

    @Alanearls: what link is am looking at? I see a 1951 (I think) blue Irish passport?

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    Mute Seán O'Nilbud
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 6:02 PM

    @lavbeer: Stop drinking cleaning products.

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    Mute Tom Harpur
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 4:13 PM

    So seeing as the colour of our passport is not legally binding should we change ours to green with gold writing on the front as a symbolism of us being Irish.

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    Mute Peter Walker
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 4:18 PM

    @Tom Harpur: Blue is the official colour of Ireland

    28
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    Mute Derek Walsh
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 4:49 PM

    @Tom Harpur: No. Few of us are so insecure in our identity that the colour of the cover of a travel document could strengthen it.

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    Mute Cormac Ó Braonáin
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 5:33 PM

    @Peter Walker: ‘official’ likely being the colour Britain gave us.

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    Mute Beast of Exmoor
    Favourite Beast of Exmoor
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 3:48 PM

    Yea. Yea. Ok. But what about those straight bananas then…or was it the size of the bunches… Or maybe it was that we had to pay the EU £350m a week to straighten them
    Well it was something anyway.

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    Mute Marc Power
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 4:48 PM

    Such an important earth shattering issue. In a fading power where food banks and charity shops and wonga loans are the norm for millions and where tens of thousands have killed themselves due to harassment from dwp ( uk social protection) this is what’s important? Truly broken country

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    Mute David Hickey
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 3:11 PM

    Haha!

    17
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    Mute Liam
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 4:52 PM

    There’s no such thing as an Irish passport, only a European Union one. The sooner people realize that, the better. We live in one empire, one people and one culture. Long live the 4th Reich

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    Mute Bingobango
    Favourite Bingobango
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 5:32 PM

    @Liam: No, not all European passports are the same. The Irish Passport is stronger that a lot of EU counterparts.
    https://www.passportindex.org/byRank.php

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    Mute Seán O'Nilbud
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 6:03 PM

    @Liam: Poor dumb frightened Liam, as dumb as any Sun reader.

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    Mute Paul Shepherd
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 5:12 PM

    Great idea to go back to blue……makes it much easier for jihadists et al to identify and/or target British citizens. Still, if it makes them feel “great” again so be it?

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    Mute David Patrick Cahill
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 4:40 PM

    Croatia kept their blue passport when they joined the EU.

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    Mute Vincent
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 6:44 PM

    About 80 countries in the world are using blue passports, so they will hardly feel unique in that. Japan has even blue passport for 5 years validity and burgundy one for the 10 years validity.

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    Mute Cde Bru
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 6:31 PM

    The irony is they changed them voluntarily in 1988, when the Tories were in Government and Thatcher was PM.

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    Mute gerry fallon
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 7:13 PM

    They are more to be pitied than laughed at.
    Showing their true colours now.

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    Mute Valthebear
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 8:52 PM

    Ah, the thick Sun reading Brits… Aren’t we Irish a great little race altogether. Wasn’t so long we’d be screaming racism and blue murder when similar insults were hurled at us by the Brits. As for Brits wanting Irish passports, remember the former British ambassador who said he was taking out an Irish passport so he could get through Italian airports quicker when visiting his holiday home. Ireland; always someone else’s little plaything, this time in the EU Empire rather than the British Empire

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    Mute Giovanni Casermaggio
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 7:42 PM

    Colour has been changed now take North Ireland off …

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    Mute Liam Hunter
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    Dec 23rd 2017, 12:37 AM

    Eh Michelle…’revert back’ is a tautology…you cannot revert forward ! English 101…great to see high journalistic standards being promoted so regularly in The Journal !

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    Mute Neill Copeland
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 9:40 PM
    1
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