During a press conference at the EU parliament, Romanian MEP Cristian Terhes warned of a social credit score and “the Chinafication of Europe.”
“Clearly, we are witnessing right now the Chinafication of Europe,” Terhes began. “Because we see what is happening in China right now with the social credit score, where the government is monitoring and surveilling all the people from the beginning to end… This is an example of a tyranny.”
“When the government knows everything about you, where you go, what you eat, where you enter, that’s a tyrannical system. And we’ve seen this system being implemented right now under the leadership or Ursula von der Leyen, slowly but surely in the European Union.”
Terhes explains that several policies and technologies are being debated in the EU that will inevitably lead to a social credit score, including the EU smart citizen wallet.
“All of these things are creating a system that will monitor, control, supervise, and condition the rights of all European citizens.
He further addresses journalists specifically, asking them to watch the EU closely, as they’re prone to “180-degree” changes in what they state they’re doing and what they actually do. He uses the Green Pass (vaccine passport) as an example.
Indeed, Terhes is right to be concerned, as multiple developments in Europe warrant examination and could have dire consequences for freedom down the line.
Firstly, just days after winning re-election, French President Emmanuel Macron authorized the creation of the “Digital ID Guarantee Service” (SGIN), which will allow France to be ‘compliant’ with the European Union’s digital ID.
Meanwhile, Italy could become the first EU nation with a social credit score.
According to an article from Corriere di Bologna, the municipal government is introducing a “smart citizen wallet” that can receive “digital points” based on whether a citizen has demonstrated “virtuous behaviour.”
Residents can then use these digital points for discounts and to make various purchases.
Unsurprisingly, actions related to one’s carbon impact are central to what’s considered rewardable “virtuous behaviour.”
“The citizen will [receive benefits] if he recycles; if he uses public transport; if he manages [his energy consumption] well; if he does not receive sanctions from the municipal authority; if he actively uses the Culture Card,” [translated from Italian] says Bologna councillor Massimo Bugani.
Of note, the social credit score isn’t as all-encompassing as the one that exists in China yet and currently remains voluntary.
Rather than penalizing citizens for not behaving “virtuously,” as defined by the government, citizens will only be rewarded. The government hopes that this distinction, treating the social credit score more like a reward card, will increase the adoption of the soft social credit system.
At the same time, the World Health Organization (WHO) has contracted German-based Deutsche Telekom subsidiary T-Systems to develop a global vaccine passport system, with plans to link every person on the planet to a QR code digital ID.
All roads appear to lead towards a less-free, more China-like Europe and the Western world more generally.
