Citizens of Croatia will be among the first in the European Union to use a digital passport stored on their mobile phone to verify their identity when travelling abroad, the Croatian Jutarnji List daily said on Monday.

Croatia and Finland, along with the Netherlands and Canada, have launched pilot-projects to develop a digital passport for mobile phones. The digital passport will make it possible for travellers to notify border authorities in advance of their arrival and that way shorten the border crossing time.

In Croatia, the project is being carried out by the Ministry of the Interior and the state-owned AKD company. The European Commission has approved nearly €2.3 million for the project.