Surprisingly, the transport committee of the European Parliament paves the way for the introduction of body scanners at airports in EU countries. With yesterday's vote, MEPs seem to have surpassed the historical doubts on the effectiveness and respect for the rights of passengers of this technology. It also leaves the possibility, aired a few weeks ago, allowing passengers to carry on board liquids over 100ml.
All in the name of greater security. It will be a coincidence, but after the failed attack on the Amsterdam-Detroit flight last December 25 in Brussels had broken the debate on body scanners, today, after threats from al-Qaida's revenge for the killing of Osama Bin Laden, Parliament seems to have won the last delay and is preparing to give the go ahead for the expected final plenary session on 23 June in Strasbourg.
Adopted in 19 airports (40 machines) in the United States, until now, body scanners had a hard time in Europe is because of their effectiveness is questionable in relation to privacy concerns for passengers, stripped of their clothing by the rays of the devices. He added the alleged damage to health X-ray, actually conjured by many international experts.
But the position taken yesterday by the transport committee avoids all obstacles: optional scans (with alternative control), the prohibition of using more invasive X-ray, ban to conserve and store images, to refuse access to incite women, children, elderly and handicapped. Beyond the established technical difficulties related to the use of body scanners, as the elongation of the exponential time of check-in and any criteria for selecting the people who submit the test (race? Ethnicity? Religious?) 'S installation of equipment in all European airports would surely exorbitant costs.
The price of each device is approximately € 115 thousand on it, a prohibitive figure, especially for small airports. Just think of the Valerio Catullo Verona, strongly criticized in recent months by the independent trade union of private security (Savip) for the shortage of land and control standard on even those carriers considered "at risk", such as direct flights to Israel.
The President of the European Parliament's Transport Commission itself, the English socialist Brian Simpson, had raised some concern in recent months: "We want to make air travel as safe as possible, but those who believe that scanners are the right solution utopia lives ". More critical still another member of the board, the Italian Giommaria Uggias (IDV): "There is too much emphasis on fear and safety of citizens.
The risk is to approve unsafe and harmful technologies like the body scanner. Think you're thinking of them also in railway stations. " "A nothing is worth the failure of the Italian trial - Adds Uggias - should be clarity between the conflicts of interest in Italy." Just Italy, along with France, Germany, Holland and Finland has gone far to making the body scanners at European level.
Foreign Minister Franco Frattini stated that it is the "safer place" to ensure "the right to security, which is a precondition of all freedom." But their experimental use in Fiumicino, Malpensa and Venice has been a real flop. Gilles de Kerchove, the European anti-terrorism coordinator, although not ruling out the possibility of using the body scanner as an aid, we would stress that "we must do something much more important to equip airports with new control equipment." E 'key, for example, "finally seek an agreement with the United States to share the watch list on suspected terrorists." The same Barack Obama, the day after the failed attack on the Amsterdam-Detroit flight had declared that it was a "problem of intelligence and not of controls.
The European Commission intends to present new rules on aviation safety which provide the final authorization of body scanners in Europe. The position of parliament in June will be binding, but the decision seems to have taken. 
All in the name of greater security. It will be a coincidence, but after the failed attack on the Amsterdam-Detroit flight last December 25 in Brussels had broken the debate on body scanners, today, after threats from al-Qaida's revenge for the killing of Osama Bin Laden, Parliament seems to have won the last delay and is preparing to give the go ahead for the expected final plenary session on 23 June in Strasbourg.
Adopted in 19 airports (40 machines) in the United States, until now, body scanners had a hard time in Europe is because of their effectiveness is questionable in relation to privacy concerns for passengers, stripped of their clothing by the rays of the devices. He added the alleged damage to health X-ray, actually conjured by many international experts.
But the position taken yesterday by the transport committee avoids all obstacles: optional scans (with alternative control), the prohibition of using more invasive X-ray, ban to conserve and store images, to refuse access to incite women, children, elderly and handicapped. Beyond the established technical difficulties related to the use of body scanners, as the elongation of the exponential time of check-in and any criteria for selecting the people who submit the test (race? Ethnicity? Religious?) 'S installation of equipment in all European airports would surely exorbitant costs.
The price of each device is approximately € 115 thousand on it, a prohibitive figure, especially for small airports. Just think of the Valerio Catullo Verona, strongly criticized in recent months by the independent trade union of private security (Savip) for the shortage of land and control standard on even those carriers considered "at risk", such as direct flights to Israel.
The President of the European Parliament's Transport Commission itself, the English socialist Brian Simpson, had raised some concern in recent months: "We want to make air travel as safe as possible, but those who believe that scanners are the right solution utopia lives ". More critical still another member of the board, the Italian Giommaria Uggias (IDV): "There is too much emphasis on fear and safety of citizens.
The risk is to approve unsafe and harmful technologies like the body scanner. Think you're thinking of them also in railway stations. " "A nothing is worth the failure of the Italian trial - Adds Uggias - should be clarity between the conflicts of interest in Italy." Just Italy, along with France, Germany, Holland and Finland has gone far to making the body scanners at European level.
Foreign Minister Franco Frattini stated that it is the "safer place" to ensure "the right to security, which is a precondition of all freedom." But their experimental use in Fiumicino, Malpensa and Venice has been a real flop. Gilles de Kerchove, the European anti-terrorism coordinator, although not ruling out the possibility of using the body scanner as an aid, we would stress that "we must do something much more important to equip airports with new control equipment." E 'key, for example, "finally seek an agreement with the United States to share the watch list on suspected terrorists." The same Barack Obama, the day after the failed attack on the Amsterdam-Detroit flight had declared that it was a "problem of intelligence and not of controls.
The European Commission intends to present new rules on aviation safety which provide the final authorization of body scanners in Europe. The position of parliament in June will be binding, but the decision seems to have taken.
- Washington Post: Pakistan Has Allowed The CIA to Search The Villa Where He Lived Osama Bin Laden (27/05/2011)
- VIPR Mobile Body Scanners ??? (27/05/2011)
- CIA to be allowed to search bin Laden compound (27/05/2011)
- A Tale of Two Terrorists (27/05/2011)
- US-Pakistan relations 'at turning point' after killing of Bin Laden, warns Clinton - The Guardian (27/05/2011)
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