EU Plans to Require Biometrics for Visitors

bushwhacker2000 writes to tell us that the EU may soon be requiring travelers to provide biometric data before crossing into Europe. They are trying to soften the blow by offering "streamlined" services for frequent travelers but the end result seems the same. "The proposals, contained in draft documents examined by the International Herald Tribune and scheduled to go to the European Commission on Wednesday, were designed to bring the EU visa regime into line with a new era in which passports include biometric data. The commission, the EU executive, argues that migratory pressure, organized crime and terrorism are obvious challenges to the Union and that the bloc's border and visa policy needs to be brought up to date."

Comments

Falls rome, falls the world

[Azul]

Ugh.

One of the reasons I'm so worried to see the downward trend towards fascism in the United States is that in many ways Europe is not going in the opposite direction, it is simply lagging behind. Sure, I came to live in Switzerland, but I'm always seeing the same political abuses start to happen here just a few years after they start to happen in the United States, the same pro-corporations laws like the DMCA and the same trampling on people's rights, just a bit delayed.

Somehow this happening in the EU does not really surprise me. :-(

Re:Hmm

[PCM2]

Doesn't sound so bad to me, a few peices of my soul for a chance to visit a place where my American dollars are now worth crap and I widely disliked... Indeed, a win win proposition.

Well, to be fair, we started it.

The level of paranoia is growing exponentially

[Whammy666]

It seems there is a real competition in the world to see who is the most paranoid country on the planet. Governments across the globe have surpassed any level of terror the terrorists could generate because they have institutionalized fear to far greater effect than the terrorists could ever achieve on their own.

Personally, I think this nonsense has more to do with xenophobia, racism, and political control than with combating actual terrorism.

Re:Hmm

[TheRaven64]

It's patriots and tyrants, and the trick is to find the patriots who are willing to refresh the tree of liberty with their own blood as well as that of tyrants.

Re:Hmm

[Shakrai]

and the trick is to find the patriots who are willing to refresh the tree of liberty with their own blood as well as that of tyrants.

Too bad most people in the modern world are perfectly content with losing their rights, provided that they still have their blackberries, TVs, cheap gasoline, houses and the illusion of security from terrorists.

Yeah, it's probably not as bad as all that, but it sure does feel that way sometimes, doesn't it?