EU:The European Commission wants to create a centralised fingerprint database to help states co-operate better in fighting serious crime, a commission spokeswoman said yesterday.
However, she denied a report in the Timesin Britain that the plan involved storing fingerprints of people released without charge as well as those convicted of offences, raising fears of a "Big Brother Europe".
EU leaders unanimously asked the commission in 2004 to consider proposals for such a database as part of the so-called Hague programme on developing co-operation in justice, security and home affairs.
Spokeswoman Ana-Paula Laissy said the proposal, included in the EU Commission's work programme for 2008, would be consistent with EU privacy and data protection safeguards.
"The idea would be to have fingerprints, and I insist on this, only of convicted people, and no other data would be centralised," she told a news conference.
Commission vice-president Franco Frattini, who is responsible for human rights as well as justice and security, would only make a proposal once the EU's legal service had ensured it was in full conformity with data protection rules and fundamental rights.
Another official said preparations were at an early stage, but it was clear that the database would be limited to people convicted of serious offences. Access would be confined to investigations into a limited number of serious crimes.
British Conservative MEP Syed Kamall denounced the idea in a statement.
"These proposals are dangerous, provocative and Orwellian. The European Union is using the threat of terrorism as a cover to erode our civil liberties and grab yet more power from governments."
Britain's home office said it would question any EU moves to create a central fingerprint database.
A spokeswoman said: "A centralised Europe-wide database is an entirely new idea, and no such proposal has actually yet been tabled by the commission. The UK would want to look carefully at what benefit such a database would bring."