The Commission is "convinced that body scanners can play a very useful role as a complementary means of screening".
According to the EU executive, member states are free to use body scanners, provided that the security checks do not contradict national or EU legislation. But a previous draft EU regulation on body scanners issued in 2008 was heavily criticised by the European Parliament and withdrawn over privacy and health concerns.
At the time, the Commission decided that further technical analysis was required before EU-wide rules could be adopted.
Full body scanners will be introduced at Heathrow airport in the UK within three weeks, and the UK government will consider profiling passengers. More sniffer dogs will be used and behavioural analysis will become commonplace under the revised code, said Alan Johnson, the UK Home Secretary.
There was broad consensus among security experts and industry insiders that the measures could help to protect aircraft from terrorist attack, but that their success or failure would depend on exactly how the changes were implemented.
In Germany, Education and Research Minister Annette Schavan told Bild am Sonntag newspaper that Germany could introduce body scanners later this year. The government has made clear it is not against the scanners in principle but is trying to guarantee privacy rights.
Italy aims to install full-body scanners at the main airports of Rome and Milan for flights considered at high risk of terrorist attack, Interior Minister Roberto Maroni told Corriere della Sera newspaper on Saturday (2 January).
The introduction of full body scanners, however, raises questions about privacy, cultural sensitivity and personal freedom.
Privacy campaigners claim the images created by the machines are so graphic they amount to "virtual strip-searching" and have called for safeguards to protect the privacy of passengers.
(EurActiv with press agencies)