IDsProposed EU ID cards to include fingerprints
The EU Commission on Tuesday will propose a law aims at increasing security within the bloc’s borders, including fingerprinting in ID cards. The Commission said that compulsory fingerprinting in ID cards are necessary to countering terrorism in Europe. Fingerprints are already required for EU passports, along with biometric pictures.
The EU Commission on Tuesday will propose a law aims at increasing security within the bloc’s borders, including fingerprinting in ID cards, according to an interview with Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos in German daily Welt.
The law would make fingerprinting and other biometric elements compulsory for all EU ID cards. They are already required for EU passports, along with biometric pictures. Avramopoulos said that universal use of them in ID cards as well would curb the spread of fake documents.
“We have to tighten the screws until there’s no wiggle room left for terrorists or criminals and no means for them to launch attacks,” Avramopoulos told Welt.
As part of other measures to be adopted, “it means that [terrorists] are being denied access to money, fake documents, weapons and explosives while, at the same time, preventing them from crossing our borders undetected,” he added.
The German government approves of the plan as ID cards are used as travel documents within the EU and the “compulsory introduction of fingerprints in identity cards could provide an extra layer of security,” the Interior Ministry told the news agency dpa.
At present, fingerprinting in ID cards is optional in the bloc. Some countries, like the United Kingdom, do not have ID cards at all.
