“Every object the individual uses, every transaction they make and almost everywhere they go will create a detailed digital record. This will generate a wealth of information for public security organisations, and create huge opportunities for more effective and productive public security efforts." (EU Council Presidency paper)Details at Statewatch.
Here is a great example of why the EU actually prefers general ignorance and apathy about its activities. People may think it is irrelevant to their everyday lives. They wouldn't think that if they understood the following:
The EU is responsible for:
the introduction of the Intercept Modernisation Programme which requires the logging of the details of ALL our telephone and internet activity;
the requirement of all first-time adult passport applicants to attend an interrogation centre (at their own expense and in their own time) to prove their identity and, later, to provide fingerprints;
the issuing of driving licences which bear a photograph of the holder, which has to be renewed every ten years (at the holder's expense and under penalty of a fine for not renewing in time);
plans to create an EU Health Card containing all your medical details;
plans to create an EU-PNR system, ie a Passenger Name Record database that records all details of travel by individuals into and out of the EU, but also at some stage all travel within the EU (so much for 'free movement');
plans to issue 'e-government' cards, ie ID cards, which will be necessary for people to access healthcare, library services, benefits, etc.
There's more, of course, but read Tony Bunyan's analysis at Statewatch.
All of this will cost enormous amounts of money - our money, that is, since the EU, like all governments is parasitical and unproductive. It won't work properly (thank God) most of the time because the computer systems won't be up to scratch and no country will be able to employ the enormous numbers of people needed to operate things.
But it will cause immense amounts of inconvenience and cost to us; people will be harassed and wrongly accused; glitches in the system will mean that fines will be sent to the wrong people, that delays will occur, that records will not be updated correctly and in time, that people will be denied healthcare, benefits, bank accounts, etc.
And also that hundreds of thousands of 'professionals' will have access to the most private details of our lives, and that criminals will have a field day stealing data and using it for their own ends.
All for our own good, of course, to protect us from criminals and terrorists.
The other point to remember is that these and hundreds of other such laws and planned laws come down from the EU with either no resistance from our own government, or, worse, with its backing. Once they become directives our government, whoever is in place, has to enact them - the EU is our boss and our politicians are its servants - not ours.
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