MEPs have called on the European Commission to abolish the anti-terrorism rules which restrict the amount of liquids airline passengers can carry in their hand luggage.
The European Parliament passed a motion yesterday calling on the commission to repeal the liquids ban unless it could provide evidence to support its efficacy in combating terrorism.
The commission has refused to publish its reasons for restricting the volume of liquids allowed in aircraft cabins, and has refused to tell the parliament what liquids it believes represent a potential terrorist threat. The commission said it cannot reveal any details for security reasons.
Spanish MEP and member of the parliament's civil liberties committee Ignasi Guardans said the regulations should not be "kept secret" from European citizens.
"The measures are disproportionate and lack transparency. It shows again the weakness in current procedures for parliamentary scrutiny over some anti-terrorism legislationIf the commission can't convince the parliament of the reasoning behind these regulations they should be repealed."
Speaking in relation to the arrest of terrorist suspects in Germany yesterday, Mr Guardans said the liquids regulations would have had no relevance in relation to their capture.
"I'm certain that none of the German terrorists arrested yesterday had a bottle of water in their hands."
He said the commission was "abusing its power to legislate secretly".
Mr Guardans said the civil liberties committee was prepared to take the commission to the European Court of Justice on the matter.
Irish Labour MEP Proinsias de Rossa said he believed the regulations needed to be amended rather than abolished, but agreed that the commission must publish its regulations.
"There needs to be a detailed justification of why these regulations were introduced in the first place. The question is whether the response is rational and proportionate to the level of threat or if it is cosmetic."
The commission had given "no rational explanation" of why it was a terrorist threat to bring one bottle of liquid on board an aircraft while hundreds could be brought through the Channel tunnel.
However, speaking on behalf of the commission yesterday, EU justice chief Franco Frattini left little hope that the regulations would be reviewed.
He said the threat of terrorism remained high and the commission's anti-terrorist measures must remain in force. The commission would not tolerate states who were not living up to their security obligations.
Fianna Fáil MEP Sean Ó Neachtain said the liquid ban had resulted in a 30 to 40 per cent drop in duty free sales worldwide.
