EARLIER this year David Coburn, who sits in the European Parliament for the UK Independence Party, a Eurosceptic group, came up with an eccentric argument for leaving the European Union: the quality of his morning toast. He claimed that EU regulation meant toasters had only “the power of one candle or something”, leaving his bread “all peely-wally” rather than nicely roasted. Brexiteers cheered: yet another example of croissant-scoffing continentals meddling with British traditions, such as burning bread to a crisp.
In fact, the EU does not regulate the energy consumption of toasters—and on October 25th it appeared to abandon any plans of doing so. According to internal documents from the European Commission, toasters, kettles and hairdryers are unlikely to be included on a list of new products covered by the Ecodesign Directive, which sets rules on improving the energy efficiency of appliances.
Such rules are wildly unpopular, and not just with grumpy Brits. On its website, the right-wing Alternative for Germany party sells incandescent lightbulbs (which the EU has phased out) as a rather dimly lit protest gesture. Even in…
