I think the teapot thing had to do with maximum power levels in devices that heat up water.
I guess it was a bit too complicated for Brussels, but if lowering the amount of heat put into water to bring it to a boil, all you do make it take longer to start boiling. And taking it one step further, for every second someone is waiting for water to boil, heat is being lost to atmosphere, so in the end, the slower you heat up water temperature, the MORE energy you need to use to get the same result.
The other issue I remember was less with the UK and more with Italy, when Brussels determined it was no longer safe for Europeans to consume olive oil out of small bottles when eating out, and instead were trying to force everyone to use plastic packets (like ketchup at McDonald’s). Perhaps they were thinking that the bottles were vulnerable to Islamic terrorism...but worrying about terrorism threats for Muslims would be a first for the EU, so I doubt it was that.
Anyway, both were starting to factor into the Brexit vote, so the EU pulled back and also ordered their Fascists in Brussels to basically NOT publish any new laws until AFTER the Brexit vote...in other words, they were colluding to effect an election outcome. No surprise.
Yeah, these things are nonsensical any way you want to look at them. What difference does it really make how much energy some home in the UK wants to use to boil water? It’s really just insane that someone would even try to regulate it.
And I understand that they were trying to create some sort of uniformity so that goods could travel freely throughout Europe. But really this is a question for the market to decide. And until they all start to use the same kinds of electric sockets there will always be some market fragmentation. So any way I look at it, it’s totally asinine regulation.
The bottle fiasco was driven by Italy and Spain - the main producers of olive oil. Along with Greece and Spain, Italy had supported the measures as a way of protecting its producers and fighting fraudulent practices involving inferior oil being passed off as something better.
From news articles about it
“Bad news for the ‘Made in Italy’ agricultural sector and for consumer protection. The commission’s U-turn … is a defeat for all the countries that have always fought hard against fraud and scams at the table,” said the confederation of Italian farmers in Italian newspapers
“Once again we must observe that Europe has rejected a regulation supported by some 15 countries, among which were the main producers like Italy and Spain, and has instead rewarded those who had opposed it from the start such as the northern [member] states, starting with Germany, the Netherlands and Britain,” it added.
The new Italian government was also displeased. “For us this is a cultural and legal battle,” said Nunzia De Girolamo, agriculture minister. The new rules would have improved the system, she said.
Paolo de Castro, chair of the European parliament’s commission for agriculture and rural development, criticised the move, which he said had “stunned” him.
Just like the British or French or Germans with specific rules on food products to promote their own producers, the Italians and Spaniards and Greeks tried the same in 2013.
The Brits with the Germans vetoed it — that’s how the veto system works.