ID Cards - Fingerprinting children
WORKERS, DEC 2007 ISSUE
All children aged 6 years and upwards are to be fingerprinted for EU passports and nationally issued ID cards. Hidden away in European Commission and European Parliament resolutions and regulations [Article 62(2)(a) of the Treaty establishing the European Community; Regulation of the European Parliament and Council amending Council Regulation (EC no. 2252/2004!], the decision to press ahead has been given the green light. Serious consideration as to the fingerprinting of children aged younger than 6 years has been undertaken but shelved after "technical considerations".
In another decision, all passengers travelling in and out of the EU are to be recorded – to be called passenger name records (PNR). These will be profiled and stored for 13 years. The European Parliament has been consulted but as with national parliaments not given a voice. The EU's own Data Protection Agency is opposing both these measures – not being convinced of the necessity. The decision of the EU to spy on all who enter Euroland mirrors the secret decision they arrived at with the US government to provide personal details on all travellers to the USA via the EU.