Bending the rules

The daily Frankfurter Rundschau comments on plans to abolish the EU norms for 26 kinds of fruit and vegetables. "Let us get one thing clear: Cucumbers are not straight and never will be and may be offered for sale even if they are really bent. The story of the bent cucumber has been around ever since some politician used the cucumber argument to vent his fury over Europe. If the EU abolishes the quality norms for 26 kinds of fruit and vegetables, it will actually change precious little. For the sale of bent cucumbers has been allowed all along, but because they are cheaper they put pressure on the price of straight cucumbers. That is why the bent cucumber does not have a future, because market gardeners want to make money on them. What is more, trading practices often employ criteria that go well beyond EU regulations. Anyone who wants to buy and sell goods blind internationally needs rules. ... To make sure it is the cucumbers and not the deals that are crooked."

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Consumers, » Agriculture, » Europe