MEPs to vote on contentious scan

The European Parliament is due to vote on whether to delay the introduction of scanners revealing passengers' naked bodies at airport security checks.

Some European lawmakers argue the measure should not proceed without a debate on its implications for privacy, human rights and data protection.

The European Commission had planned to add the scanners to a list of security measures used at EU airports.

It has insisted the proposals are at an early stage and would not be mandatory.

The security technology uses an X-ray scanner to produce an image outlining the body as well as items concealed under clothing - such as weapons or drugs.

In a debate at the European parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday, German Social Democrat MEP Wolfgang Kreissl-Doerfler said the scanner idea was proof of the "paranoia of interior ministers" over the issue of fighting terrorism.

"These devices allow one to see genitals, if a woman has big or small breasts," he said.

Explicit portrayal

A spokesman for the executive European Commission told the BBC a wider roll-out of the technology would not only enhance safety and security, but would also have the potential to speed up the check-in process, as passengers would not need to be searched by security officials.

"These body scanners pose serious issues of civil liberties and personal dignity"
Baroness Sarah Ludford
British Liberal Democrat MEP

While their images are not of photographic quality, British Liberal Democrat MEP Baroness Sarah Ludford said the scanners disclosed intimate medical details such as the use of breast implants or colostomy bags.

"Travellers need to know exactly what the images display, their right to opt for an alternative search, and how they can have confidence that intrusive and sensitive images will not be misused," she said.

"These body scanners pose serious issues of civil liberties and personal dignity."

EU Transport Commissioner Antonio Tajani said on Tuesday he had "not made any decision" on whether the new scanners would be introduced, and said they would never be made obligatory.

He said the images would neither be recorded, nor stored on a database.

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