For those planning future travels within the European Union, your experience might become a little more interesting. Last week, the European Parliament voted to connect border-control, migration, and law enforcement systems into a database on both EU and non-EU citizens. The Common Identity Repository (CIR) will combine biographical identities, compile biometric data, and make it available to law enforcement and border authorities. In a statement , Rapporteur Jeroen Lenaers said: “Without changing access rights or endangering the data protection rules that govern them, interoperability will ensure faster, more systematic and more complete access to EU information systems for professionals on the ground: police officers, border guards, migration officers and consulate staff members, in order for them to do their job better. Better decisions can be made on the basis of better information.” Generally, biometric data refers to physical characters that can be measured or calculated. In...