Today's Le Monde has a juicy example of one of the upcoming policy priorities in the European Commission's in-tray. A study* has apparently been submitted to the Commission recommending the introduction of EU-wide standards to reduce the amount of energy consumed by...household electric coffee machines (we kid you not).The article notes that Barroso & Co. will make a decision on this delicate matter over the next few months. The Commission could either opt for introducing a new regulation or choose to negotiate with producers on a voluntary basis.
We recently noted that the euro crisis, and particularly France and Germany's response to it, has sidelined the European Commission in favour of national governments. Le Monde's front page editorial applies this theme to the coffee machine/energy issue. It concludes,
"That's how things go in a Europe of which the Commission is no longer the engine. But let's reassure ourselves, the aforementioned Commission finds something to do. These days, it bustles about regulating the energy consumption of our electric coffee machines. Our filter and espresso machines are too voracious of kilowatts; we need - we're told - to introduce a new rule as a matter of urgency. Some days, being a European is a matter of faith."* Update 16:10: Here is a link to the study mentioned by the article. It looks like a huge research project...
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