Forcing EU citizens to give fingerprints for all new ID cards is wrong approach
Date
05 Apr 2019
Sections
InfoSociety
S&D MEPs today voted against measures that will impose collection and storing of fingerprints of all European citizens on all new ID cards. The S&D Group believes that this decision should be left to member states, so a real debate could take place at national level.
S&D MEP responsible for the update to the rules on ID cards, Sylvia-Yvonne Kaufmann said:
“We are strongly in favour of updating standards on ID cards, to make them easier to use and harder to falsify. Throughout these negotiations we have engaged constructively and have managed to ensure key safeguards to protect citizen’s privacy. However, we could not support a final agreement pushed by the Council that made it mandatory for governments to collect and store fingerprints on all new ID cards. This should be a decision taken at national level, allowing a true debate over whether holding this personal information is necessary and proportionate. As always, we must be vigilant against simplistic and misleading arguments that giving our rights and freedoms away is the only way to keep us safe. This is a false and dangerous narrative.
“It is a shame that centre and right-wing groups blocked the attempt to allow a separate vote on this specific issue, as we supported the majority of these proposals. Our Group will always be the one fighting for real solutions to keep people safe, not presenting a false argument that we must severely limit individual liberty in the name of security.”