US, Europe to engage in ‘high-level’ talks over laptop ban

U.S. and European Union officials will engage in “high-level” talks in Brussels on Wednesday to chart a course forward on a possible ban of large electronics on U.S.-bound flights from Europe.

The EU’s European Commission will host the talks, according to a spokesperson, at both the political and technical level in order to “jointly assess any new threats and work towards a common approach to address them.”
 
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Deputy Secretary Elaine Duke is expected to represent the U.S. at the meeting in Brussels, while Commissioners Dimitris Avramopoulos and Violeta Bulc will represent the EU.

{mosads}The talks will come nearly one week after the DHS held an emergency conference call to hear the concerns of European officials, who worry about the potential chaos if the administration decides to expand a laptop ban to include airports in Europe.

European officials on last Friday’s call highlighted potential safety concerns over having to store a large number of devices powered by lithium ion batteries underneath the aircraft and urged the U.S. not to take unilateral action on the matter.

The DHS initially imposed the electronics ban on inbound flights coming from 10 airports in Jordan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Qatar, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates.

Under the policy, passengers are prohibited from carrying electronic devices larger than a cellphone — such as laptops, tablets, cameras and portable DVD players — into cabins of select flights but can still stow the items in checked luggage.

Expanding the policy to Europe, however, would affect a much a larger slice of the inbound travel population. Some travel groups have urged the administration to instead consider options to the laptop ban.

Senior administration officials say the new security protocols are necessary because terrorist groups are pursuing innovative methods to smuggle explosive devices onto commercial flights — a long-time concern of the U.S. government.