Youtube Great Britain Leaving the Eu Funny
Britain officially left the European Union at 11pm last night and to mark the event Express.co.uk looks back at some of the bloc's most ridiculous rules that have dictated everyday life in the UK. From bananas to light bulbs and tampons - Britain will be free from the stringent policies from January 1 2021, the end of the Brexit transition period. Here are eight examples of EU laws or rules that the Government may choose to abolish at the end of December 2020.
Bananas cannot be too bendy
In a widely ridiculed ruling, Brussels bosses banned rogue bananas with "malformations and abnormal curvature".
In 2009, the European Union introduced strict restrictions on the quality of bananas and other fruits sold within the EU.
Under the regulations, the fruit should be "free from malformation or abnormal curvature of the fingers".
The EU then classify bananas into three sections, with premium "extra" class bananas having to be "free from defects".
Class one and two bananas were given more leeway with the former allowed to have "slight defects of shape" and the latter bananas are allowed to have "defects of shape".
Eight of the most ridiculous EU laws (Image: Getty)
Britain will officially leave the EU tomorrow (Image: Getty)
Bananas cannot have 'abnormal curvature' under EU rules (Image: Getty)
Water does not hydrate you
In 2011 the EU banned drink manufactures from claiming that water can prevent dehydration.
EU officials concluded that, following a three-year investigation, there was no evidence to prove drinking water prevents dehydration.
Producers of bottled water are forbidden by law from making the claim and will face a two-year jail sentence if they defy the edict.
The move was criticised as being both at odds with science and common sense.
The NHS, which says dehydration occurs "when your body loses more fluid than you take in", advises drinking fluids to help ward off dehydration.
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The village of Stilton is banned from producing Stilton (Image: SWNS)
The EU banned drink manufacturers from claiming water prevents dehyrdration (Image: Getty)
Tampon tax
Currently, all sanitary protection in the UK is charged a VAT of five percent, the lowest rate permissible under EU VAT rules.
The Government has indicated willingness to scrap the controversial tampon tax, but existing EU laws prevent member countries from introducing a zero percent rate on products.
Britain will be free to scrap the tax, which treats sanitary products as a luxury non-essentials item, from January 1, 2021 - the end of the transition period.
It should be implemented fairly quickly, as David Cameron's Government included a provision in the 2016 Finance Bill to allow for sanitary protection to be zero-rated, once the UK had discretion to do this.
The European Commission did agree to abolish the tax in 2018 after extensive lobbying from the UK, but it will not come into effect until January 2022.
Sanitary products are charged five percent VAT (Image: PA)
Strict fishing quotas
The Common Fisheries Policy sets annual fishing quotas on each type of fish and mandated that if fish of the wrong species were caught accidentally, they had to be thrown overboard.
As a result, thousands of dead fish ended up being chucked back into the sea as fishermen attempt to reach the right quotas of the required species.
This practice was heavily condemned as tonnes of dead fish were being discarded.
In 2019 the EU outlawed the controversial practice and obliged skippers to land unwanted fish.
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The Common Fisheries Policy sets annual fishing quotas (Image: Getty)
Halogen light bulbs banned
The EU banned member states from selling halogen light bulbs, replacing them with LEDs.
The final stage of the EU energy regulations was put in place in September 2018.
LED lights are more efficient and require significantly less power to operate but are more expensive than its predecessor.
Earlier versions of LEDs were criticised for being slow to light up, but newer versions of the light bulb instantly light up.
But since the halogen ban was introduced, scientific studies have found LED lights can permanently damage eyesight and disturb natural sleep rhythms.
Last year the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety warned the "blue light" emitted from LEDs can lead to "irreversible loss of retinal cells and diminished sharpness of vision".
How Britain's seats will be distributed after Brexit (Image: Express)
Inches and pounds banned as measurements
In 2010 the EU banned the use of imperial measurements (feet, inches, pounds etc) and instead only allowed the use of metric units (metres, kilograms).
As a result goods sold loose by weight were required to be sold in grams and kilograms.
Traders are allowed to display weights and prices in both imperial and metric but not in imperial only.
The EU banned halogen lightbulbs (Image: Getty)
Prunes are not a laxative
One month after banning water from being sold as preventing dehydration, the EU ruled prunes do not have a laxative effect and as such, producers cannot say that they do.
The EU investigated the matter and found: ""The evidence provided is insufficient to establish a cause and effect relationship between the consumption of dried plums of 'prune' cultivars (Prunus domestica L.) and maintenance of normal bowel function."
During the 2016 Brexit referendum, numerous reports highlighted a series of "ridiculous" EU regulations, which included barmaids being banned from showing their cleavage when serving customers, 'Bombay Mix' having to change its name to 'Mumbai Mix' and European sports teams having to wear the European flag on their uniforms - all of which were proven untrue.
This article reported that the EU had "forced" the UK to follow a law that said Stilton cheese could only be made in Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, and not in the village of Stilton. In fact, it was the UK which had ruled this in a domestic court ruling at the same time as the EU, and it was the UK itself which applied to the EU for the protected location of origin to apply to the whole EU. As such, the UK was not "forced" to follow the law by the EU. In addition, the article previously reported that the EU had ruled that water does not hydrate people. In fact, the EU did not conclude that there was no evidence that drinking water does not prevent dehydration. An EU Panel considered whether water could be advertised as reducing the disease of dehydration under Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006, and the Panel found that dehydration could not be a "disease" for the purpose of this regulation. This correction has been published following a complaint upheld by IPSO.
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Source: https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1235600/brexit-news-brexit-day-ridiculous-EU-laws-brexit-transition-period
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