EU states clash with MEPs over new security measures - by Renata Goldirova
The European Union has failed to strike a deal on common aircraft security measures, including the idea of having armed sky marshals on flights across the 27-nation bloc. "There is a deadlock", German centre-right MEP Georg Jarzembowski, negotiating on the parliament's behalf, told EUobserver after the first round of conciliatory talks. He added that "the council is not really moving to take any responsibility" for the costs of security measures. According to the European Parliament, the costs should be shared by passengers and member states, but if a government wants to impose even more stringent measures, it should cover the whole bill.
The council however says all costs should be borne by the airlines industry, which would almost certainly pass the extra burden on to passengers.Similarly, EU states are reluctant to grant MEPs a say over the technical implementation of the new rules - something that would have a great impact on whether those rules would be limited in scope or duration. For example, the parliament requires that security measures, such as the ban on carrying liquids on board, should expire after 18 months, unless a thorough re-evaluation of the security risks means they are needed. MEPs also suggest strict oversight of in-flight security officers known as sky marshals. They should be well-trained, have specific authorization to carry weapons and no country should be obliged to accept them, unless the competent national security authorities consider it necessary.
Note EU-Digest: the EU parliament is absolutely right in making sure that these security measures do not infringe on member states privacy of information laws and that they have a limited time frame of staying in force.
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