EU data protection chief criticises plan to scan migrants

BRUSSELS: An EU plan to use an automatic fingerprinting system and facial recognition software on irregular migrants and asylum-seekers is problematic and should not become a precedent for other laws, the bloc´s data protection chief said on Friday.

“There is no evidence that the measures envisaged in the regulation are actually justified,” said a statement from Wojciech Wiewiorowski, the independent European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS).

“I take the lack of an impact assessment as worrying, given the nature of the personal data at stake -- sensitive biometric data -- and that vulnerable people may be involved -- migrants,” he said.

“The EDPS considers that this should not constitute a precedent for any future legislation having comparable impact on the fundamental rights to privacy and data protection,” he added.

EU countries and the European Parliament in December agreed a packet of draft laws that include the data collection of irregular migrants and asylum-seekers.

Other measures include a faster vetting of irregular arrivals, more border detention centres, speedier deportations and shared responsibility to take pressure off frontline EU countries.

The reform is expected to be legislated before June this year, when EU elections will decide the next European Parliament.