STRASBOURG: MEPs have welcomed a European parliament resolution urging Brussels to review rules on aviation security.
Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, who originally tabled a written question to the European commission on the subject, said that security measures must be efficient, well balanced and implemented in a reasonable manner.
"The measures restricting liquids aboard aircrafts do not seem to correspond to any of these criteria," she argued.
Restrictions on the quantity of liquids passengers are allowed to bring on aircraft were introduced by EU regulation 1546 last November.
Spanish civil liberties committee MEP Ignasi Guardans told journalists after the plenary vote that one objection to the restrictions was simply that they made no sense.
"You can make a bomb with less than 100ml of liquid, or you can make a bomb with something solid," he said.
"There is also the story of a Vatican-chartered flight of pilgrims who had their holy water confiscated on their way back from Lourdes."
Another issue brought up by MEPs was the lack of transparency associated with the regulation.
"Even I acting as a member of the European parliament do not have the right to see the text of the regulation," said Guardans.
"Parliament has criticised this, and is requiring the commission to do something about it. We want the commission to publish powers of restriction that apply to citizens."
Guardans added that in his opinion, the commission had in any case exceeded its powers in implementing the restrictions.
"Commission powers to implement regulations on transport security fall under the same rule that dictates how big x-ray machines are.”
"But here it is playing a new role in restricting the movement of citizens."
The parliament’s transport committee chair Paolo Costa said that the EU needed a more coherent, consistent and integrated strategy to fight terrorism. One of the main concerns he argued was the inconsistent and non-harmonised implementation of the legislation at airports across Europe.
"If we react in an emotional way then we are doing what terrorists expect of us," he said.
The MEPs hope the resolution will pressure the commission into reviewing current airline restrictions on liquids.
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