A Brussels meeting between groups representing the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Assistant Secretary Kip Hawley and Jonathan Faull, the European Commission Director General for Justice, Freedom and Security has proved inconclusive in achieving fast

mutual recognition of the sealed bag proposal from the European Commission.
TSA officials said they want more time to examine how the system works and were due to visit Brussels Airport for a practical demonstration yesterday.
They said they also wanted time to discuss the specifications for such a bag, an issue that is currently top of the agenda with European Travel Retail Council President Frank O'Connell.
Mutual recognition of the sealed bag is seen as vital if non-EU transfer passengers are to avoid having their duty free items confiscated.
The TSA is now expected to take its time looking at the new system which is all the more reason why interested parties in the duty free and travel retail industry worldwide need to lobby their governments to pressure the European Commission to give more time and greater focus on pushing this issue forward.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) will shortly send out a letter to all of its members worldwide which is expected to recommend that they adopt a mirror image of the new EU regulations.
Without an agreed sealed bag precedent between the EU and the US for other countries to adopt, this will mean that all transfer passengers buying liquids/gel-based duty free goods at non-EU points of origin will run the risk of having their purchases confiscated.
The bad will that this could generate amongst the travelling public needs no explanation and the European Commission – while it has been helpful thus far – must be persuaded to pressure the TSA into a speedy solution to this huge problem.