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Thursday: MEPs against body scans & pirates. Hu Jia wins Sakharov Prize
Institutions - 24-10-2008 - 10:29
"Yes, No, Abstain": MEPs vote. Strasbourg, Thursday 23rd October
MEPs condemned the use of body scanners at airports Thursday. They believe they are "equivalent to a virtual strip search" and will block European Commission plans to approve them. The day also saw the House call for criminal action to be taken by Europe, America and Russia against sea pirates. MEPs also awarded the prestigious Sakharov prize to jailed Chinese dissident Hu Jia.
MEPs take on pirates
European ships and their cargos are increasingly being targeted by pirates off Somalia and the Horn of Africa. A recent case was that of a Ukrainian vessel loaded with tanks and armaments falling into the hands of warring factions in Somalia.
In a strongly worded resolution, MEPs called for European states to treat this kind of piracy as a criminal act under international law.
Members also want more clarity concerning when European forces can be deployed. French naval commandos recently stormed a yacht that had been captured by pirates - successfully freeing her French crew.
The resolution, which will be sent to the Council of Ministers, also called for Europe to coordinate naval patrols and future action with the US and Russian navies.
Speaking in Thursday's debate Europe's new transport commissioner Antonio Tajani called for concerted action to avoid going back "centuries" where pirates control the high seas. He told the House the four most dangerous areas are "the South China seas, the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, the Gulf of Guinea and the Horn of Africa".
MEPs against airport body-scanners
The use of body scanners at airports is "equivalent to a virtual strip search" and "has a serious impact on the right to privacy...and personal dignity".
That is the emphatic view of MEPs on the European Commission's proposal to allow body scans to be one of the "permitted methods" of ensuring security in airports.
Body scanners produce images of persons as if they were naked and the Commission would like them included in a draft regulation on security.
In a resolution passed on Thursday, MEPs demanded the Commission carry out a fundamental rights impact assessment and to consult the Fundamental Rights Agency as well as the European Data Protection Supervisor
Speaking in the debate on Tuesday 21 October British Conservative Philip Bradbourn MEP said that such scans "were a grave violation of the right of privacy and a degrading measure".
Budget and Bosnia
In other votes MEPs passed the 2009 budget at its first reading. Also approved were measures to make airport charges clearer. A report on the European Ombudsman's activities last year was also signed off.
Finally, as part of their remit to approve all international agreement the European Union signs, MEPs passed a Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the EU and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
REF.: 20081020STO39966