ID Cards: They're back!

Well, they're back in a different guise, as we knew they would be. After all, the inititative comes from the EU and very likely, the G20 because Americans are fighting the same battle.

What a coincidence!

Now, it's BioP@ss, as Big Brother Watch reports:

No sooner than the Prime Minister signals a u-turn on the introduction of ID cards in Britain; news has seeped out of the continent that the EU may be next to try and impose a system of biometric cataloguing and identification on its citizens.
According to this report, chip manufacturers are being lined up to participate in a new European research project called BioP@ss, with the intention of developing a 'high-security chip card platform'.
It goes on to say:

..BioP@ss is the biggest chip card research project in the EU. Its goal is to do the technical spadework for the introduction of an electronic ID card in chip card format valid throughout the entire EU.
In addition to its function as an ID card, it will be capable of providing a secure means of authentication for services offered by governments and public authorities..

The BioP@ss research project is apparently due to be completed in 2011 and already has a total budget of €13 million.