EU takes time off fighting the euro crisis and bans open containers of olive oil in restaurants...

Priorities of the nanny state...

(Reuters) – Critics ridiculed European Union bureaucrats on Saturday for taking time off fighting the euro zone’s debt crisis to impose strict new rules on how restaurants serve olive oil.

From January 1, 2014, eateries will be banned from serving oil to diners in small glass jugs or dipping bowls, and forced instead to use pre-sealed, non-refillable bottles that must be disposed of when empty.

The European Commission said the move is designed to improve hygiene and reassure consumers the olive oil in restaurants has not been diluted with an inferior product.

But critics say the rules are a sop to Europe’s olive oil producers, and will only add to the frustration felt by many towards a bloated EU bureaucracy regarded as out of touch with the concerns of ordinary Europeans.

“If the European Union was logical and properly run, people wouldn’t be so anti-Europe. But when it comes up with crazy things like this, it quite rightly calls into question their legitimacy and judgment,” said Marina Yannakoudakis, a British Conservative member of the European Parliament.

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