EU fingerprint database - Euro big brother?

10.02.00am GMT Wed 14th Mar 2007

Commenting ahead of Thursday's debate and vote on a report by the European Parliament's Civil Liberties committee on ensuring EU legislation respects fundamental rights, Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP, Liberal Democrat Justice Spokesperson, said:

"Doubts about respect for the proclaimed EU principles of freedom, democracy and the rule of law will explode with the European Commission's startling announcement - long suspected but now openly proclaimed - that it intends to create a centralised database of fingerprints."

"We are bombarded with proposals for police or intelligence services' access to EU immigration or border control databases, as well as transatlantic insistence on access to passenger name records and bank account data. But an EU fingerprint database is so mind-blowing that it will create an unholy alliance of Europhobes and civil libertarians."

"Without proper data protection safeguards to prevent unauthorised access and transfer, fishing expeditions, 'profiling' and recording of erroneous suspicions, European citizens will turn against EU action."

"Has this 'Euro Big Brother run riot' really got the approval of the Commissioners' group on fundamental rights? In the absence of legal force for the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights Europe's citizens are deprived of the level of fundamental rights protection that they expect."

ENDS

Notes to Editors

In March 2001, the Commission decided that proposals for new legislation would, as part of normal decision-making procedures, first be scrutinised for compatibility with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The Charter was proclaimed by the Presidents of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on 7th December 2000 and incorporated as Part Two of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe on 18 June 2004. The Charter is not yet legally binding. Since November 2004 a group of Commissioners on fundamental rights is meant to filter Commission proposals.

The Commission's intention to implement a centralised database of fingerprints is in its Annual Policy Strategy for 2008, document COM (2007) 65 at page 12, which can be found at http://ec.europa.eu/atwork/synthesis/doc/aps_2008_en.pdf