Pro

A European citizen card can gradually evolve into a personalised key for access to diverse services throughout the EU, such as healthcare, social security, voting, banking services, and employment formalities. The existence of such a card could simplify a wide array of administrative functions, such as the right of access to emergency health care in case of an accident (i.e., indicating your blood group) when travelling in the EU, proof of personal and family status to facilitate the process of claiming permanent residence in another EU Member State, a European-wide social security number to facilitate the rapid verification of social security rights and medical insurance, proof of professional and academic qualifications to facilitate their recognition, and easy access to the signature of European citizens’ initiatives, petitions to the European Parliament, and e-voting in European elections if/when such voting is introduced.

Against

Every mandatory personal document that is issued by authorities can be used to exert additional control over the personal liberties of a person. If such a card is developed, data protection should be a key consideration. The personal data of the cardholder should be protected under all circumstances, including while being issued or used. Moreover, interoperability is an equally important matter, in particular, if the European ID card is adopted as an addition to national ID cards, in which case it would need to be made interoperable with the electronic identification schemes of Member States where these are used. (2)

The article is posted in collaboration with MobileCIT.