Sure, but the EU or any country can make these terms unenforceable in their airports. Sign a law stating that circumventing such a ban cannot be punished for example.
You can also play a negotiation game. Ban something ridiculous in return. Then say "we lift our ban if you lift your ban, and reduce import tariffs on X by 2%". Then the other party says "we'll reduce it by 1%, and you agree to this line in this treaty, and we'll only ban laptops over 1.5 kg"... and you have a deal. That's how bilateral negotiations go. And I think many commenters believe that this laptop ban has at least partially economic motivations.
I wish the EU had more balls and self confidence when it came to such negotiations. This is very tangential, but I think Germany in the EU, the EU in the western world, and the west (North America+Europe) in the rest of the world don't realize how well off they are, and how much power they still have.
You can also play a negotiation game. Ban something ridiculous in return. Then say "we lift our ban if you lift your ban, and reduce import tariffs on X by 2%". Then the other party says "we'll reduce it by 1%, and you agree to this line in this treaty, and we'll only ban laptops over 1.5 kg"... and you have a deal. That's how bilateral negotiations go. And I think many commenters believe that this laptop ban has at least partially economic motivations.
I wish the EU had more balls and self confidence when it came to such negotiations. This is very tangential, but I think Germany in the EU, the EU in the western world, and the west (North America+Europe) in the rest of the world don't realize how well off they are, and how much power they still have.