Its vice president Antonio Tajani, in charge of transport issues, said the original decision to keep the list out of the public domain had been made for security reasons, in the wake of the September 11 attacks in 2001 and later attempts to bring down transatlantic flights departing from Europe.

"Five years on, the experience we have gained enables us to have greater transparency without prejudicing security," he said.

The list of prohibited items, circulated to reporters in Brussels, includes all firearms as well as toy guns and knives.

The lengthy list also includes cricket bats and golf clubs along with skateboards and fishing rods.

In the explosives category are included aerosols, non-safety matches and alcoholic beverages over 40 percent proof.

Liquids in quantities of more than 100ml are also listed, a ban which has long been well-publicised.

The EU rule which introduced the list of banned items is currently facing a European Court challenge.

In April, the EU's top legal adviser berated the EU executive for "the persistent and deliberate non-publication" of the proscribed items list.

European Advocate General Eleanor Sharpston said the problem was one "whose gravity is so obvious that it cannot be tolerated by the Community legal order," in a written opinion, which is not binding but of which the European courts will take note.

The issue was highlighted in the case of German traveller Gottfried Heinrich who was ordered to leave a plane in Vienna in 2005 as he was carrying tennis racquets.

Heinrich took the case to court in Austria which has referred it to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.

Commission spokesperson Fabio Pirotta said the banned list was "not exhaustive". Tennis racquets, for example, do not appear.

"There will always be an element of discretion for security officers," he told AFP.

Despite the spirit of openness the European Commission said that elements of the original regulations still "deemed sensitive" would not be published.

The EU executive gave as an example the minimum performance standards expected of airport security screening systems.

AFP