I live in the Czech Republic, and of course we have national ID cards as well. My objections to them go along different lines than those of most posters here:
ID cards create a false sense of security and confidence
For example, when you are buying a house, the owner can -- and must -- prove his identity with the national ID card. There are no other checks on his identity. So if you steal and ID card of somebody who is going for a longer vacation (and has a reasonable likeness to you or one of your accomplices], gain entry into his house, change locks, and then sell his house -- this actually happened to an acquintance of mine a few years back.
It can be argued that some biometric elements will make identification more secure. I think it is doubtful, it will only make the process described above more elaborate, but without doubt it will make the ID cards more costly.
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I live in the Czech Republic, and of course we have national ID cards as well. My objections to them go along different lines than those of most posters here:
ID cards create a false sense of security and confidence
For example, when you are buying a house, the owner can -- and must -- prove his identity with the national ID card. There are no other checks on his identity. So if you steal and ID card of somebody who is going for a longer vacation (and has a reasonable likeness to you or one of your accomplices], gain entry into his house, change locks, and then sell his house -- this actually happened to an acquintance of mine a few years back.
It can be argued that some biometric elements will make identification more secure. I think it is doubtful, it will only make the process described above more elaborate, but without doubt it will make the ID cards more costly.