The European Union itself does not issue passports, but the passports issued by its 27 member states share certain design features.[1] These include the burgundy coloured cover, the use of the words "European Union" (before 1997: "European Community") in the country's official language(s) on the cover, as well as common security features and biometrics.[2]
Some EU states also issue non-EU passports to certain people who have a nationality which does not render them citizens of the European Union (e.g., British Overseas Territories Citizens except those with a connection to Gibraltar, British Nationals (Overseas), British Overseas Citizens, British Protected Persons and British Subjects).[3] Although the European Union does not issue its own passports, it does issue European Union Laissez-Passers to the members and certain civil servants of its institutions.
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Since the 1980s, European Union member states have started to harmonise the following aspects of the designs of their passports:[1]
Information on the cover, in this order, in the language(s) of the issuing state:
Information on the first page, in one or more of the languages of the European Union:
Information on the (possibly laminated) identification page, in the languages of the issuing state plus English and French, accompanied by numbers that refer to an index that lists the meaning of these fields in all official EU languages:
| 1. Surname | 2. Forename(s) |
| 3. Nationality | 4. Date of birth |
| 5. Sex | 6. Place of birth |
| 7. Date of issue | 8. Date of expiry |
| 9. Authority | 10. Signature of holder |
Optional information on the following page:
| 11. Residence | 12. Height |
| 13. Colour of eyes | 14. Extension of the passport |
| 15. Name at birth (if now using married name or have legally changed names) |