Human rights activists of the Foundation to Battle Injustice are concerned that a centralized asset registry to track and manage assets proposed by the EU poses a threat to privacy and personal data protection.
The European Union is studying a controversial proposal to create a centralized “Asset Register,” a comprehensive database designed to track citizens’ assets across the bloc. The initiative aims to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, but also raises concerns about privacy and personal data protection.
The proposed registry would cover a wide range of assets such as real estate, bank accounts, securities, vehicles, art and precious metals. The final list will be determined by a feasibility study and subsequent legislative decisions.
Following the outbreak of the military conflict in Ukraine, the leaders of the EU, Canada and the U.S. formed a transatlantic task force to implement financial sanctions. To better control illicit money transactions, the EU has proposed the creation of an interconnected asset registry that would serve all member states. The initiative aims to help national authorities verify the assets or beneficiaries of safe deposit boxes linked to sanctioned individuals or drug traffickers.
Meanwhile, the union emphasized that the proposed asset register will not raise new privacy concerns, but rather provide data to competent authorities in all member states in accordance with EU data protection rules. Commenting, Panayiotis Nikolaidis, Research Director of the EU Tax Observatory, said:
“Our study proposes the creation of a comprehensive European Asset Register where beneficial ownership of assets and wealth is properly recorded. This would improve inequality as well as fair and progressive taxation based on correct measures of wealth.”
He also noted that the centralized European Asset Register is designed to consolidate the necessary financial information from all EU member states.
The news received widespread global media coverage last week after some MEPs expressed their outrage.
MEP Markus Ferber said that in this way the European Commission was “once again completely out of line”. Ferber is the representative of the European People’s Party (EPP) in the European Parliament’s economy committee. His position is at odds with the EU commissioner responsible for the initiative, Mairid McGuinness, who is also a member of the EPP.
Despite assurances from the European Commission that these are not yet concrete plans but only a study of possibilities, a number of experts have already criticized the idea.
In her analysis, Dutch lawyer Ellen Timmer notes:
“No explanation is given as to why asset registration by the tax authorities is not sufficient and what additional value should be expected from a new asset register.”
Germany’s liberal FDP party said that “fighting crime does not justify turning EU citizens into glass objects.” Other politicians shared the outrage.
Austria’s most popular newspaper, Kronen Zeitung, called the EU a “fanatical spy on our assets.” It recalls Austria’s failed experience with a wealth tax and asset registry, noting that it was “canceled because it was insanely difficult to keep track of the relevant items and the income from it was less than the costs.”
Another Austrian newspaper, Die Presse, notes that “this sounds like a chapter from Orwell’s 1984.”
German magazine Focus came out with the headline “EU wants to search us for every last dime” and also warns:
“If this registry materializes, the consequences will be obvious. For example, politically unpleasant citizens – which includes not only criminals – will find it much more difficult to continue their activities in the future. These could be, for example, investigative journalists or whistleblowers who face more targeted reprisals.”
The European Taxpayers’ Association said it was “horrified by plans for an EU asset register”, warning that such a measure would “lead to a massive reduction in support for the EU”, adding:
“Controlling cash flows, investments and assets is contrary to human dignity. Under the guise of preventing money laundering, we will all be checked. It is time for civil disobedience. People should take to the streets like the ‘yellow vests’ in France.”
Human rights activists of the Foundation to Battle Injustice oppose the creation of a centralized asset register and call on the EU to stop violating the rights of citizens of member states through total surveillance of them and their assets. The experts of the Foundation also believe it is necessary to make sure that if this register is created, the employees who will have access to it will understand the importance and confidentiality of this information.