Imagine that! The European Union isn’t happy with the prospect of having the US ban all laptops and tablets from carry-on luggage on flights heading to America. Recent reports indicated the US is looking to expand the laptop ban to Europe, and it sounds like the EU is taking it very seriously. Local governments will hold talks on Friday with the US Department of Homeland Security.
According to Associated Press, European governments are “alarmed” at the proposed expansion of the laptop ban.
European Commission transport spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen confirmed the talks and said the EU had no new information about any security concerns. Security is the main issue here, as EU countries want to know what new threats prompted the proposal.
The US Department of Homeland Security organized a telephone conference for Friday afternoon with “key European partners,” including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK. The conference call is supposed to be of ministerial level, with the French attendee expected to be secretary general for defense and national security Louis Gautier.
France, apparently, wants to push back against the measure, saying there’s no significant increase in the terror threat.
The ban on laptops and tablets wasn’t based on a specific threat but on concerns about terrorists targeting planes. The UK mirrored the US decision on banning devices from flights from the Middle East, although each country came up with specific countries for the ban.
