A European Parliament vote for bloc-wide digital IDs is the latest step towards the “Chinafication of Europe”, an MEP has claimed.
Cristian Terhes, a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Christian Democratic National Peasants’ Party, has described the European Union’s latest push for cross-border digital IDs as another move towards the “Chinafication” of the bloc.
Although bureaucrats in Brussels have insisted that the measure is in the interests of average citizens, the parliament’s vote to see digital IDs adopted appears to be one of the latest attempts by EU institutions to pull power away from member-states’ national governments.
According to a report by Euractiv, the vote to see negotiations for a European Digital Identity Framework (eID) to go forward was approved by the bloc’s parliament on Thursday — though the publication describes the process as a mere formality.
Romana Jerkovic, the parliament’s rapporteur for the digital ID programme, heralded its approval of the plans, claiming that they will enable individual EU citizens to have “full control over their own data” while accessing facilities across the bloc.
Such a claim has been heavily disputed by Terhes, however, who instead sees the measure as a dangerous erosion of the rights of those living within the European Union.
“The loss of our freedoms and liberties to the Big State is normally done incrementally, but the passing of the eID Wallet is a big step towards the Chinafication of Europe,” the parliamentarian told Breitbart Europe, repeatedly warning that the measure could give authorities China-like oversight over people’s private lives.
“This Digital Wallet will allow the EU and national authorities (like the Chinese Communist Party) to have technical tools so they can know what the people are doing and to impose control,” Terhes said.
“Something similar to a Chinese style Social Credit System is now made available in the EU, because this eID Wallet is a necessary technology to its implementation,” he alleged.
Read More: EU’s Digital ID And The “Chinafication Of Europe’