BBC Guide to Euromyths

Some examples of ‘euromyths’ from UK (via FP Blog);

BARMAIDS' BREASTS

There was great alarm in 2005 when it was reported that "po-faced pen-pushers" from the EU had ordered a cover-up of barmaids' cleavages. The story was that a proposed new directive would stop workers exposing their skin to the sun, because of the risk of skin cancer. One paper launched a "Save Our Jugs" campaign.

The draft Optical Radiation directive in fact said nothing about barmaids' breasts. On the other hand, it would have made employers responsible for ensuring that their staff - be they barmaids, builders or park-keepers - did not suffer from over-exposure to the sun, by using sun cream or covering up their skin, as appropriate.

In the end, a vote in the European Parliament ensured that sunshine was dropped from the directive. It provides protection for people working with artificial radiation sources, such as lasers and infra-red lamps, but leaves barmaids and their admiring customers unaffected.

BOMBAY MIX
The city once known in English as Bombay is now known as Mumbai. So should the spicy snack known as Bombay Mix be renamed, in order to strip it of colonial overtones?

According to one British newspaper in July 2006, this is precisely what "nutty EU officials" were demanding, in the name of political correctness. It would be an exaggeration to say that the British nation was united in indignation, but the story is an interesting one because it is a 100% pure example of what the European Commission calls a "euromyth".

It was traced back to its roots by the Daily Telegraph's Brussels correspondent at the time, David Rennie, who spoke to the small-town news agency which sold the story to the national press. The agency's news editor said it "came from a mate of his at the Home Office, who had heard it being talked about". Had he tried to pin it down, or found any piece of paper discussing the change? Had he found a manufacturer who had been advised to alter a product name? No, it was "just meant to be funny for the tabloids".

THE STRAIGHT BANANA
Was the European Union trying to ban straight bananas, or bent ones? This story goes back so far that a lot of people are no longer sure quite what the scandal was about. They just remember that Brussels seemed to be taking an unhealthy interest in the shape of this fruit.

Here is the correct answer: the commissioners have no problem with straight bananas, it's the crooked ones they don't like so much, but they have never banned them. As Commission Regulation (EC) 2257/94 puts it, bananas must be "free from malformation or abnormal curvature". In the case of "Extra class" bananas, there is no wiggle room, but Class 1 bananas can have "slight defects of shape", and Class 2 bananas can have full-on "defects of shape".

No attempt is made to define "abnormal curvature" in the case of bananas, which must lead to lots of arguments. Contrast the case of cucumbers (Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1677/88), where Class I and "Extra class" cucumbers are allowed a bend of 10mm per 10cm of length. Class II cucumbers can bend twice as much.