How all EU police forces can see your secrets!
LONDON, England - February 2, 2011 - EU nationals flying anywhere in Europe will have sensitive personal information handed over to the police authorities in all 27 European Union countries under a new air travel surveillance system.
Telephone numbers, addresses, credit card numbers, email and other details will be available on demand for all EU police forces, including countries such as Bulgaria and Romania where corruption among law enforcement officials is widespread.
The system, billed as an anti-terrorism measure, will track all travelers and will also allow any EU police officer access to the data on suspicion of a serious crime, including offenses that are not a crime in Britain.
Civil liberties campaigners fear the new EU surveillance system will make citizens more vulnerable to miscarriages of justice amid growing concern over EU policing measures and the lack of safeguards or judicial standards in some European countries.
MPs have also been angered that the British government is actively negotiating, alongside France, to hand over the information without first informing the House of Commons, making a charade of ministerial promises not to give up justice powers to the EU without parliamentary approval.
Guy Herbert, of the No2ID campaign group, said the measure was "about greed for surveillance" not fighting terrorism.
"Everything that is needed to determine anything about you is included. It allows you to be tracked wherever you go. It enables state agencies to build a complete picture of the lives of those of us who travel and puts the information in the hands of a completely unaccountable bureaucracy," he said.
Telephone numbers, addresses, credit card numbers, email and other details will be available on demand for all EU police forces, including countries such as Bulgaria and Romania where corruption among law enforcement officials is widespread.
The system, billed as an anti-terrorism measure, will track all travelers and will also allow any EU police officer access to the data on suspicion of a serious crime, including offenses that are not a crime in Britain.
Civil liberties campaigners fear the new EU surveillance system will make citizens more vulnerable to miscarriages of justice amid growing concern over EU policing measures and the lack of safeguards or judicial standards in some European countries.
MPs have also been angered that the British government is actively negotiating, alongside France, to hand over the information without first informing the House of Commons, making a charade of ministerial promises not to give up justice powers to the EU without parliamentary approval.
Guy Herbert, of the No2ID campaign group, said the measure was "about greed for surveillance" not fighting terrorism.
"Everything that is needed to determine anything about you is included. It allows you to be tracked wherever you go. It enables state agencies to build a complete picture of the lives of those of us who travel and puts the information in the hands of a completely unaccountable bureaucracy," he said.
