Surveillance and fingerprinting EU

Compulsory fingerprinting for EU citizens is set to be fast-tracked by Europe’s justice ministers on Thursday.

The move has angered MEPs after national governments linked quick European Parliament approval for digital ‘biometric’ passports to new justice powers.

Ministers are also to push through controversial measures compelling data retention of telecoms traffic data.

The move will depart from existing EU privacy law to allow access to SMS, mobile phone and internet records by police and security agencies.

MEPs are angry that both measures are being pushed through during heightened anti-terrorist scares and without proper democratic scrutiny by national or the EU parliaments.
 
“The 25 EU governments are using their untrammelled powers to push through these measures on a dodgy basis, meeting in secret and bypassing full scrutiny of both MEPs and national MPs,” said Liberal MEP Sarah Ludford.

“These measures may well be disproportionate to the threats they are supposed to counteract. But the costs and security claims are withheld from proper scrutiny, and data protection safeguards are not spelled out.”

Civil liberties watchdogs and MEPs are concerned that meetings of EU ministers are bypassing parliaments to agree draconian legislation.
 
“Once they are pushed through, national parliaments will be unable to stop the consequences, which could include widespread access to our personal data and further discrimination against ethnic minorities through 'stop and search',” said Ludford.

“The way EU law is currently made in the internal security field is a democratic scandal, showing how desperately we need more open and accountable methods, as the EU constitution will ensure.”

The introduction of ‘biometric’ facial and fingerprint digital data on EU passports will see the mandatory fingerprinting of Europeans without proper debate.

Portugal is the only EU country to routinely fingerprint its citizens, with fingerprinting limited to criminal investigations in other European states.

National governments have told MEPs that new moves to extend the European Parliament’s will come after a rubber stamp for biometrics.

German, Hungarian and Slovakian data protection commissioners have joined campaigners in Statewatch, Privacy International and European Digital Rights to urge MEPs to reject ‘biometric’ passports.

“This is an unnecessary and rushed policy that will have hazardous effects on Europeans' right to privacy,” said a joint letter.

“We are calling on the European Parliament to reject this policy… We urge the parliament to oppose the creation of an EU-wide database of personal data.

“We further urge the parliament to oppose mandatory fingerprinting as an unnecessary and disproportionate act.”

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