Give me my liquids back
Back in Brussels after a four hour drive from Strasbourg.
One of the key decisions of this week had to do with restrictions on liquids that passangers can take on board an airplane.
The basic message of the European Parliament was clear: it is time to revise the rules, which were established in haste in August 2006. The rules are too cumbersome and too costly.
We also called on the Commission and the Council of ministers to publish the exact text on the restrictions. The Commission's response was negative on all accounts. And the sad thing is that the European Parliament has no powers to decide over these types of issues.
Laughing before an interview with Jean-Paul Chapelle from France 2.
I was one of the 464 MEPs who voted for the resolution (158 against and 70 abstentions). I think that the current rules are completely over the top. I have no problems with airport security. On the contrary.
I just think that there is not enough evidence that the types of restrictions (transparent plastic bags with liquid containers of no more than 100 ml) surve the purpose that they were created for.
I feel sorry for the poor security services who have to implement the rules. They get a lot of slack for a bad decision that was taken after the UK authorities allegedly intercepted a terrorist attack which was to use liquid explosives.
Do you really wanted to blow up a plane or cause maximum harm to passangers, would you go for liquid explosives? Come on, terrorists are not stupid.
In liberal democracies we are always trying to find a balance between liberty and security. In this particular case we have simply gone too far and I do not think that passangers should put up with it.
What do you think? Are the rules over the top or can you live with them? What should be done?
6 kommenttia
Kommentoin suomeksi jos sopii: Toissa sunnuntaina Hki-Vantaan turvatarkastaja ei huomannut laukussani olevaa nestemäistä käsienpesuainetta! Laukku meni läpivalaisun kautta käsin tarkastukseen, mutta tarkastaja ei huomannut penkoa laukussa olevaa meikkipussukkaa, jossa pullo oli... Purkki oli unohtunut minulta pussiin, ei se ollut kuitenkaan yli 100ml... Että näin tarkkaa touhua sitten se turvatarkastus on ;) Onko muuten ripsiväri nestemäinen aine??
Lasketaanko Ari Vatanen suomalaisiin meppeihin? Eikös hän ole Ranskan edustaja vai muistanko ihan väärin? Siis on suomalainen muttei Suomesta valittu...
Hi Alex,
I’m glad you wrote about this problem also in your english diary. Hopefully many more readers of your diary will take part in this conversation.
We all agree that security is important, we want to feel safe during the flights, but why do the rules differ on each and every airport? You hear more and more weird and different stories when you talk about this with people who travel a lot. You’re not allowed to take more than a certain amount of liquids in small packages with you in to the cabin. Well, even I, who am without any technical education and have problems even with changing batteries to a flash light, can think of several ways how a group of terrorists could smuggle liquid explosives to the cabin if they would want to do so. Most of these ideas are based on what I’ve seen while watching how the luggage is checked.
I too feel sorry for the security people who have to do their job facing angry frustrated passengers. I also feel sorry for for example elderly people standing for hours in lines waiting for their luggage to be checked. They can feel quite helpless at foreign airports if they don’t speak the same language the security services do.
It can’t be so difficult to think of sensible ways to clear this situation. I just hope you Alex, and your colleagues, will keep on trying to do something about this. Still, I have to think positive, I’ve learned something new because of these rules. I never thought before that my mascara and my lip gloss are liquids!
Anita Andersson
Laura - Tuupovaran lahja maailmalle on valittu Ranskasta, joten lakipykälän mukaan Ari ei ole suomalainen meppi. Ari on muuten loistomeppi: kansainvälinen suomalainen, jonka kaikki tuntevat.
I strongly agree that the liquid restrictions have no more anything to do with the basic security which in my opinion is the most important aspect preventing terrorism in any case. My husband works at the airport Leonardo da Vinci of Rome in Guardia di Finanza's special group for antiterrorism (Basco Verde, the quys with a green baret!). He can surely assure you that taking away the liquids is not the answer. I have also worked at the airport of Helsinki. The most important issue here is profiling and put the resources for the preventing work. Of course the security check is important part of the system but it cannot be that most of the responsibility in the airport is put on the shoulders of those checkers who are not even near in experience and education to those ones from boarder guard, police or for example Guardia di Finanza's troop for antiterrorism.
Dear Alex, your tie looks like it is not wider than 4 cm - chic! Ari seems to reflect with his choice of assessories and shirt his voters - trés bien!
About the rules concerning liquids and maybe even semi-liquids, I agree with you. Terrorists or any kind of criminals equipped with an IQ superior to the one of a cockroach have no difficulties in circumventing these obstacles or should I say annoyancies.
However, the airport security is of utmost importance including the areas of terminals, parking lots, hotels etc., while we are considering the free movement of people. But, as we are well aware of, there are plenty of other places usable as crime scenes with horrifying results all over the globe. Therefore, the only way to stop the "nuisance" is to cut cultivating the seeds of terrorism, and that, Dear Alex, is pure politics flavoured with a mixture of power, understanding and development.