Another erosion of our civil liberties
Oct. 26th, 2007 06:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lostcarparkThis week it was announced that from 2009 it will no longer be possible to travel between Ireland and the UK without a passport, and that we will have an electronic border with a requirement to submit personal information prior ro travel.
While it may be claimed that this is to prevent terrorism, we all know that it's really about controling the movement of illegal imigrants.
Personally I'm not terribly happy about this. In the past I have travelled to the UK with no identification whatsoever. Probably not advisable, but in the past one had the right to.
However, if I lived in Northern Ireland I would be absolutely livid. This effectively makes residents of the provence second clss citizens of the UK, as they will no longer be able to travel within their own country without carrying a passport and submitting personal details about themselves.
I feel that we are heading the wrong direction with this. We should be looking at a wider European common travel arrangement. As far as I know, France, Germany and the Benelux countries still have a common travel policy. We should be looking at merging it with the UK and Ireland one, and gradually bringing in other EU countries. We should be looking at making it easier to travel within the EU, not at erecting new barriers. If necessary, strengthen the external controls, but once within the EU movement should have as few restrictions as possible.
How do you think the Texans would react if you told them they'd need a passpord to go to New Mexico?
Not very well, I think, and why should we be any different?
While it may be claimed that this is to prevent terrorism, we all know that it's really about controling the movement of illegal imigrants.
Personally I'm not terribly happy about this. In the past I have travelled to the UK with no identification whatsoever. Probably not advisable, but in the past one had the right to.
However, if I lived in Northern Ireland I would be absolutely livid. This effectively makes residents of the provence second clss citizens of the UK, as they will no longer be able to travel within their own country without carrying a passport and submitting personal details about themselves.
I feel that we are heading the wrong direction with this. We should be looking at a wider European common travel arrangement. As far as I know, France, Germany and the Benelux countries still have a common travel policy. We should be looking at merging it with the UK and Ireland one, and gradually bringing in other EU countries. We should be looking at making it easier to travel within the EU, not at erecting new barriers. If necessary, strengthen the external controls, but once within the EU movement should have as few restrictions as possible.
How do you think the Texans would react if you told them they'd need a passpord to go to New Mexico?
Not very well, I think, and why should we be any different?
