ETRC hosts new meeting with ambassadors

Nicole Mezzasalma

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The ambassadors of Croatia, Uruguay and Mauritius met with Frank O’Connell to discuss the EU mutual recognition scheme for LAGs

The European Travel Retail Council (ETRC) has hosted a second round of meetings with ambassadors of non-European Union nations as part of its campaign to increase the number of third countries applying to have their liquids, aerosols and gels (LAGs) security standards recognised by the EU and avoid confiscations at airports. ETRC president Frank O’Connell met with the ambassadors of Croatia, Uruguay and Mauritius and reported a positive response from all of them. According to the ETRC, the application for recognition by Croatia is currently at “a very advanced stage” and could be concluded by April.

O’Connell said: “This is another positive step forward for the travel retail industry as a whole—I am delighted with the news on progress with Croatia and look forward to hearing of their approval in the near future. But I continue to urge all non-EU countries that have not applied for recognition to do so as soon as possible, as this solution will only really work once as many countries as possible are recognised under the Commission Regulation.”

Singapore remains the only country to be granted recognised status by the EU.