Report - Guardian

78 The LSE Identity Project Report: June 2005report, the card will not be linked to the register because of opposition on grounds ofcivil liberties. 188EU InitiativesFrom the review of the cards in some EU member states, it quickly becomes apparentthat there is a diversity of approaches to identity systems. Some countries havebiometrics, some contain health information and some involve central databases. Thereis no common profile to all of these systems.The European Union is working to minimize this variety. Through a number ofinitiatives, the EU is hoping to standardise cards of all types. All too often, this iseffected through minimal debate, and even less awareness regarding the proposedpolicies. The passport policy is a prime example of this practice. As discussed above,the passport proposal received a bare minimum of analysis and debate within Europeaninstitutions, and few therefore noticed the insertion of the requirement for fingerprints.Now member states are busy trying to implement not only the ICAO standards but alsothe EU requirements that were decided with minimal scrutiny.EU Driving LicenceIn another initiative, the EU is working to standardise the 110 different types of drivinglicences that are issued within Member States for Europe’s 200 million licence holders.The new licence will involve a photograph on a smartcard. The policy was supportedquite strongly by the European Parliament, 189 where the rapporteur for the legislationsuggested that the new rules:“would be good for tourists, preventing the countries from applyingrestrictions to their driving licence. They will be also beneficial forfighting fraud, by creating a legal security system network inEurope.” 190Some significant disagreements led to a simpler licence than originally envisaged. Forexample, some countries were keen to standardise policies on drivers aged over 65. Thenew standard will be rolled out over next twenty years.The Hague Programme’s Standardised IDThe most significant programme will also be the most influential. In November 2004,the European Council adopted a new multi-annual programme, entitled the HagueProgramme; this builds on:“the ambitions as expressed in the Treaty establishing a Constitutionfor Europe and contributes to preparing the Union for its entry intoforce.” 191188 HAC report, July 2004.189 ‘MEPs back EU driving permit’, Henrietta Billings, EUPolitix.com, February 23, 2005.190 ‘EU driving licence hammered out’, Lucia Kubosova, EUObserver, February 24, 2005.191 ‘The Hague Programme’, Presidency Conclusions of the Brussels European Council, November 2004, available athttp://europa.eu.int/comm/justice_home/news/information_dossiers/the_hague_priorities/doc/hague_programme_en.pdf.