European Commission

If some headlines about the EU seem too bizarre to be true, it’s perhaps because they’re just that – more fiction than fact.

“EU meddlers sneak in ban on historic land measures”. “Brussels slaps noise order on heart of Scotland”. “EU wants to implement speed limits on German roads”.

Volumes are written about EU initiatives every day. Most media reports are honest efforts to inform, but there are exceptions. These often get more attention because they play on fears about the powers of Eurocrats in Brussels. The following make for entertaining reading, but are also misleading.

Several British newspapers reported in June that the EU was scrapping the acre, a unit of area used in English-speaking countries. In reality, the change merely reflects current practice.

Over the last 20 years, UK officials have abandoned the acre for the hectare, the metric unit used elsewhere in Europe. The government now routinely uses the hectare (equal to 2.47 acres) when dealing with farmers and to register land. Private landowners can still use acres to describe their property but must give the equivalent in hectares.

The reports also failed to mention that the change was part of an EU proposal to let the UK keep other non-metric units, like the mile and the pint, that pose no problem for trade.

In another report that had a false ring, The Sunday Times announced on 20 April that bagpipe players would be “quietened” under new EU health and safety laws. For the record, the EU has no intention of silencing Scotland’s traditional musicians.

What it does want to do is limit exposure to excessive noise, which causes hearing loss among many orchestra players. There are many practical ways to do this without stopping musicians from playing. Some orchestras use special earplugs and sound-absorbing materials or devices to keep the volume down.

As for slapping speed limits on German autobahns, the EU has no such plans, contrary to a 26 March report by Welt online. The German news outlet quoted environmental groups as saying the Commission would adopt limits before the end of 2010 to improve climate protection and road safety.

The EU has been seeking to halve the number of road deaths by 2010, but, it may reassure some lead-footed drivers to know, the Commission has no authority to impose speed limits on Germany or any other country.