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Journalism of Courage
Stories about the EU8217;s food regulation excesses should be taken with a pinch of salt
Yet another Euro-outrage has been averted,this time for real. In the face of public derision,the European Commission has withdrawn an order requiring that restaurants remove the jars and dipping bowls in which olive oil has been served from classical times and replace them with tamper-proof,professionally packaged bottles which cannot be refilled with low-grade oil. The grounds were health and quality assurance but large-scale bottlers would have benefited and artisanal presses marginalised. Politicians are claiming that the withdrawal shows that the EU is responsive to public opinion. The public says that the mere tabling of this order shows that the bureaucrats of Brussels remain as barmy as ever.
For a change,here is a real story in which the Commission has paid heed to opinion and withdrawn a bizarre rule. But now perhaps the EU can put the oil crisis behind it and focus on more urgent matters,such as the eternally fragile national economies in its midst.
