I suspect that what you have seen were all forgeries of temporary non-machine-readable IDs, ie. ID-2 format laminated cardstock, instead of ID-1 (credit card si

I suspect that what you have seen were all forgeries of temporary non-machine-readable IDs, ie. ID-2 format laminated cardstock, instead of ID-1 (credit card size) plastic (smart) card, which are good enough to cross land borders, for getting beer at bar or for cursory inspection by police, Such IDs are usually insufficient to open bank account (and generally rejected by anyone who cares, including many parts of government) or air travel. Edit: or given the thread context you mean forgeries of the same level as US driver licenses for under age drinking, which is quite possible, but such forgery is readily distinguishable by anyone who has actually seen real EU ID card.