Farm B&Bs may be forced to close as EU bureaucrats ban owners’ pet dogs from kitchen
(Daily Mail, Thursday June 12, 2008)

EU ruling could send B&Bs to the dogs (Western Morning News (Plymouth),June 12, 2008)

Brussels orders dogs out of B&B kitchens (The Times,Thursday June 12, 2008)

Brussels and the ruling that’s just barking mad (Daily Express,Thursday June 12, 2008)

Dog ban means hundreds of B&Bs face closure (Telegraph,Thursday June 12, 2008)
The EU legislation on hygiene of foodstaffs does not specifically state that dogs should not be allowed into Bed and Breakfast kitchens. EU rules on food hygiene standards state that Adequate procedures are (also) to be in place to prevent domestic animals from having access to places where food is being prepared, handled or stored, (or where the competent authority so permits in special cases, to prevent such access from resulting in contamination. This allows for flexibility in implementation, which is decided on …

Ambulances under threat
– New EU rule puts emergency service in jeopardy
St John Ambulance is facing a financial crisis as a new European regulation will force them to replace their emergency vehicles within the next 18 months.  …  The introduction of the new EU directive will mean huge costs for the organisation as it attempts to comply with them, placing a huge financial burden on its resources.
(Western Morning News, 26 April 2002, page 22)
Regular readers will remember that a similar story concerning ambulances featured in the last issue of Press Watch.  And the facts haven’t changed.  The European Union is still being blamed for something it is not responsible for.  There is no EU legislation that will force St John Ambulance or the National Health Service to replace their emergency vehicles. 
If the Western Morning News had done their research, they would have realised that this was confirmed as long ago as …

Western Morning News, 26 April 2002, p 22
St John Ambulance is facing a financial crisis as a new European regulation will force them to replace their emergency vehicles within the next 18 months. … The introduction of the new EU directive will mean huge costs for the organisation as it attempts to comply with them, placing a huge financial burden on its resources.
There is no EU legislation that will force St John Ambulance or the National Health Service to replace their emergency vehicles. This was confirmed as long ago as 25 May 2000 by Gisela Stuart MP, the then junior health minister, in a written answer to Sir Teddy Taylor MP.

‘Following a period of consultation with manufacturers and users, two new European standards for ambulance vehicles and their equipment were recommended by the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) in August and September (1999). Membership of CEN is wider than EU …

As from December 1995 the European Commission is outlawing Britain’s traditional mushy peas.

Daily Telegraph, p3, 9 August 1995
Today, p2, 9 August 1995
Daily Mail, p13, 10 August 1995
The Sun, p3, 10 August 1995
Daily Mirror, p9, 10 August 1995
Daily Express, p23, 10 August 1995
Western Daily Press, 10 August 1995
Western Morning News, 10 August 1995
Evening Mail, p4, 10 August 1995
Independent on Sunday, p18, 13 August 1995
Sunday Express, p37, 13 August 1995
Sunday Times, p29, 27 August 1995
This is not entirely correct. The European Commission consulted extensively with Governments and the food industry before drafting a Directive governing colours in foodstuffs, and permitting those colours to be harmless. The Directive was subsequently adopted by the European Parliament and the Council (94/36/EC), and came into force in December 1996.

One of the Directive’s general principles is that fresh and processed vegetables may not be coloured. However certain exceptions are allowed, and were introduced into the legislation following …