Debate on Plans for Internal Security
October 17, 2001New details of the proposals put forward by Interior Minister Otto Schilly (SPD) to improve internal security in Germany are met with strong opposition from junior government coalition partner, the Greens.
A spokesman for the party said that plans to include finger prints and other identification data, such as hand and face measurements, in a person's identification documents were overstepping the mark. He said Germany's citizens could not be treated as "a nation of suspects".
The Greens' criticism is focused primarily on plans to include additional bio-metric data in ID cards and passports. Alongside finger prints and hand and face measurements, other personal data are to be included in bar codes. This, the Interior Ministry argues, will make it far more difficult to falsify documents while making accurate identification easier.
The same rules are to be applied in the granting of visas and residence permits, even for business travelers and for people making short visits. The data are to be stored in Germany's foreign-national register and be made available to police and security services. Tour operators and people extending invitations to foreign visitors are also to be made subject to the tighter controls.
Furthermore, people working in security-sensitive areas such as airports are to be vetted by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and other security services. Employees of energy and water suppliers, hospitals, rail and postal services, and public broadcasters are also to be vetted by the authorities.
"Simple security procedures are no longer adequate," Schily's draft bill argues.
European Proposals
Meanwhile, EU justice ministers said they had agreed the fundamentals for creating a EU-wide arrest warrant and a joint crime category for acts of terrorism. EU diplomats said they expected the dossiers on the two projects to be completed by the end of December, in line with the timetable set by the EU heads of states shortly after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
Separately, European Union finance ministers backed new, tougher legislation against money laundering on Tuesday designed to stifle the financing of terrorism and said uncooperative countries may face financial isolation. The legislation is making its way through the EU Parliament and is expected to get final approval before the year's end.
Caio Koch-Weser, the state secretary to Germany's Finance Ministry, said the move represented a "comprehensive beginning" to the fight against money laundering and for the dismantling of the financial logistics supporting terrorist networks.