-Caveat Lector- Again, from the Financial Times of London
A necessary bureaucratic tool for Europe By Robert Graham and Raphael Minder Published: October 3 2003 20:31 | Last Updated: October 3 2003 20:31 The idea of a powerful and intrusive administrative machine, combined with petty officialdom, makes British hackles rise over the introduction of identity cards. Yet in continental Europe, where the identity card has long been in use, it is regarded as a necessary bureaucratic tool rather than a restraint on individual liberties. In most European capitals, identity cards are a fact of everyday life, as much as credit cards. And where they exist, identity cards have become even more acceptable now that people are allowed to use them to cross borders in the Schengen area - Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Norway, and Iceland - without a passport. The Schengen agreement allows each nation to design its own identity cards. Now there are moves to introduce electronic identity cards with a more intrusive biometric system of identification. The German identity card currently has a barcode and provides limited personal information such as eye colour. Portugal's card includes a fingerprint. Italy's card leaves a space for a sophisticated fingerprint which has yet to be used; the photograph of the holder is merely stapled on rather than engraved. In France, there are plans for the reproduction of a fingerprint, the structure of the hand and the iris. There has been some controversy over the issue of whether women should be allowed to use photographs of themselves wearing the Muslim head scarf. The interior ministry has ruled against this practice. France was the first country to introduce a form of identity card in 1888. The measure was conceived not to provide documents for the local population but to obtain better control over foreigners inside the country. In 1893, French law formally required foreigners wanting to work in France to obtain an identity card. During the first wor ld war the measure was extended for security reasons to include all foreigners on French territory. The French national identity card dates from 1965 - a near passport-size two-page document. The photographs on this version were relatively easy to replace and a more sophisticated plastic card was introduced in 1992. Unlike passports, the issuing of identity cards has been free in France since 1988. Within EU countries the debate now is about what sort of identity document should be required of temporary residents and migrant workers. This week EU interior ministers signalled their willingness to back a proposal from the European Commission to include biometric technology on visas and residency permits to help combat forgery and illegal immigration. The Commission's proposal is that by 2006 EU countries issuing visas would include a photograph and fingerprint - the latter being stored electronically in a computer chip on the travel documents. "The UK may be thinking about the use of an ID card but everywhere else in Europe the debate has moved a lot further than that," said one senior EU official. www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
