European Diary:I was reminded of one of the EU's "flagship" policy successes of 2007 in the airport on the way back to Brussels at the weekend when a tub of my mother-in-law's home-made chutney was confiscated from my hand luggage.
Even though I'd stuffed it into a clear plastic bag with my toothpaste for separate screening, the delicious jar of onion, tomato and coriander condiment was plucked from my grasp by an eagle-eyed security guard, who noted the jar contained more than the 100ml limit designated by the European Commission as a threat to air security.
The restrictions placed on liquids, gels and pastes carried in hand luggage were introduced in November 2006 after an alleged bomb plot using combustible liquids was uncovered in Britain. Fair enough. No one wants to take risks with security in an age when extremists stand ready to blow themselves to pieces if they can also take down an aircraft. But there are concerns among MEPs that Brussels' war on bottles of water and jars of chutney is a waste of time and money.
Urging a review of the law last year, Fine Gael MEP Avril Doyle pointed out that setting a 100ml limit on each container but allowing 10 such containers to be carried on board made no sense. "There is substantial inconvenience and disruption caused to passengers, especially transit passengers, with no discernible security benefit," she said.
Security experts testifying to a committee at the European Parliament also admitted that scanners at EU airports cannot tell the difference between chutney and liquid explosive. In other words, plastic bags full of liquids that are screened everyday at airports could well contain liquid explosives, which cannot be detected by security.
Despite the doubts raised by experts and legislators, the commission refuses to reveal any details about the success or failure of the now notorious "regulation 1546". We don't know if it has prevented a single potential terrorist attack.
The duty-free industry hasn't been so coy about the legislation, which it estimates has cost industry, air passengers and airports tens of millions of euro in abandoned perfume, cognac and chutney and additional security. In each day of May last year 2,500 litres of duty free were confiscated at Frankfurt airport from non-EU transfer passengers because the regulation did not recognise security procedures outside the EU.
Moreover, judging from the well-stocked dustbins at Irish airports this new year, regulation 1546 and transport commissioner Jacques Barrot (the man who drafted the European legislation and has refused to properly review its implementation) must be a contender for a 2007 "scrooge award", if one were compiling an EU honours list.
And with an hour to spare on my flight to Brussels, and little other news created in Brussels over the Christmas holidays, here is my alternative 2007 EU honours list.
"Non-Diplomat of the Year" goes to former Polish prime minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who ruffled the feathers of German chancellor Angela Merkel by invoking Nazi war crimes to boost his country's voting strength at the Council of Ministers. "We are only demanding one thing, that we get back what was taken from us," said Kaczynski, who argued that Poland would have 66 million people if it weren't for the war.
French president Nicolas Sarkozy could probably lay claim to half-a-dozen awards given his energetic first six months in power, which saw him sell nuclear technology to the Libyans, organise an EU peacekeeping mission in Chad and obtain a divorce.
But perhaps the pint-sized president (5ft 4in) should win the "Don Juan" title following his recent success in netting ex-model Carla Bruni as his new girlfriend.
2007 also marked the first year that the Irish language became the 23rd language to obtain official EU status. An early candidate for a "Newcomer of the Year" award, unfortunately Gaeilge didn't live up to its potential due to an embarrassing shortfall in translators. Even Irish ministers didn't use it much in Brussels, according to Dermot Ahern, who issued a diktat from Iveagh House, urging his ministerial colleagues to speak it more at the Council of Ministers.
Little changed at the European Parliament in 2007 where MEPs continued to endure their once monthly trek from Brussels to Strasbourg.
But perhaps the extreme right Tradition and Sovereignty (ITS) group in the parliament should claim the "Newcomer of the Year" and "Best Exit of the Year" awards for forming in January and self-destructing in November. The demise of the group, which included French politician Jean Marie Le Pen, was precipitated by racist comments levelled against Romanians by ITS MEP Alessandra Mussolini, granddaughter of the former Italian dictator. She described them as "habitual law breakers", prompting five Romanian MEPs to leave the group, causing it to collapse. The group is unlikely to be missed by anyone in 2008.