Residencia Certificate to be replaced

I saw this Article, its from back in May, does anyone know if this is true or not?

Residents' certificate replaced

By Nuria Pérez and Dave Jones

A NEW card for expats is being issued by the government to replace green EU residents' certificate.

National police explained it will be a smaller size - measuring 8.6cm by 5.4 cm - and is designed to be portable.

A National Police spokeswoman said: "This will make life much easier for EU citizens. The new one will fit in a wallet and does not tear like the previous one."

It responds to the call from EU citizens for change, she added.

However the initiative falls short of providing photographic ID which would enable expats to leave their passports at home. The National Police spokeswoman said the Spanish authorities are not allowed to issue ID cards to EU nationals.

"We would be breaking the directive governing the free movement of EU residents within Europe," she said. "According to this directive EU residents do not have to apply for a residence license and therefore the former residence card had to be replaced with the certificate. She added: "ID cards or passports issued by EU countries are fully acknowledged in all member states."

The smaller certificate is currently being piloted in the region of Castilla y León. It will be introduced progressively in all other regions.