Brexit threat saves our super-fast kettles
A BAN by Brussels on high-powered kettles and toasters has been shelved amid fears they could drive the British public towards the EU exit door.
The European Commission, which triggered an outcry by banning powerful vacuum cleaners two years ago, has delayed a second wave of restrictions on kettles, toasters and hairdryers, it emerged last night.
Sources said the move was ‘linked to Brexit’ and that senior EU figures were concerned that a ban on the appliances could spark fury because of the British love for tea and toast.
Brussels is also understood to have quietly ditched VAT reforms which could have meant adding tax to children’s clothes, and a review of the working time directive, both of which are known to be British bugbears.
The decision to halt the controversial moves until after the referendum on June 23 reveal panic in Brussels that the British public may vote to leave the 28-member union over such issues. Meddling in trivial decisions concerning appliances by Brussels – since restrictions were introduced on lawnmowers in the 1980s – have been highlighted by the Leave campaign.
A senior EU official told the Financial Times that the Commission shelved an extension of the EU’s eco-design rules because it was ‘sensitive to the British obsession with water kettles’.
A special unit monitoring British issues led by the Eurocrat Jonathan Faull, who was part of David Cameron’s team negotiating the deal on Britain’s EU membership, is understood to have raised the issue.
Claude Turmes, a Green MEP from Luxembourg who works on eco-design regulation, said he understood the delay was ‘linked to Brexit’. He said: ‘I’m a big fan of toasted bread with orange marmalade, and I can tell you as one of the legislators working on this that one of the last things I would want is the banning of toast. I want to create pressure on the industry to come up with toasters which are more efficient.’
A furore broke out in 2014 when shoppers were told vacuum cleaners more powerful than 1600 watts could no longer be sold under EU rules – which saw UK consumers rushing to buy powerful models ahead of the September 1 deadline.
The European Commission said the rules, intended to help tackle climate change by cutting energy usage across Europe, would lead to ‘better vacuum cleaners than ever before’.
The alarm over kettle regulation stems from a study that was leaked in 2014, which explored tightening design rules on 30 more appliances.
Human rights reform on ice – Pages 14 and 15