Ronnie Cohen takes a look at eight myths involving the EU and the metric system.

Myths about the EU peddled by British national newspapers are so common that the European Commission has a section on its website devoted to countering them. It covers stories that have appeared in British newspapers between October 1992 to July 2016. There are over 500 euromyths on the “Euromyths A-Z index” webpage. Eight of these relate to metrication in the UK. They and their rebuttal are described here.

The European Commission is not the only source of information about EU myths that have appeared in British newspapers. This issue has also been covered by BBC News, CNN.com, voxeurop and The Independent newspaper (see sources at the bottom of this MV article). This is not an exhaustive list. You can find more sources with a quick search online.

Euromyth 1: Brussels drives to rob the UK of its identity

This myth appeared in the The Sun on 7 June 2010 in an article entitled “Miles better”. This article blamed “Brussels” (i.e. the EU) for a “drive to rob our country of her identity”. In fact, the British government started its own metrication programme in 1965 as the behest of British industry, eight years before the UK joined the EU. This was in line with global moves to the metric system and did not occur as a result of EU membership.

Euromyth 2: EU imposes metric measurements on the UK

Stories about EU imposition of metric measures appeared in the Daily Star on 17 January 2001 and in the Daily Telegraph on 20 August 2001. Metrication in the UK did not start with EU membership. It started several years before the UK joined the EU. Ireland and all Commonwealth countries have adopted the metric system. However, the transition to the metric system has been gradual. After a period of rapid metrication progress between 1965 and 1980, further progress has been slow and erratic since 1980. In the words of the European Commission:

“Metric units of measurement are now used for most transactions regulated by the Weights and Measures Act 1985. From 1 January 2000, goods sold loose by weight (mainly fresh foods) are required to be sold in grams and kilograms. It is not a criminal offence to sell goods in imperial. Traders are allowed to display weights and prices in both imperial and metric but not in imperial only. Consumers can continue to express the quantity they wish to buy in pounds and ounces. The directive was agreed by the UK Government of the day and the implementing legislation was approved by Parliament in Westminster.” (Source: http://blogs.ec.europa.eu/ECintheUK/eu-imposes-metric-measurements-on-uk/)

Euromyth 3: The pint and the standard loaf are under threat

Several British newspapers ran stories about the EU banning the use of pints. The stories can be found in the following newspapers on the dates given here:

Daily Mail, 30 January 2006

The Sun, 30 January 2006

Daily Express, 30 January 2006

Sunday Times, 29 January 2006

Daily Mirror, 2 February

Birmingham Post, 3 February

Yorkshire Post, 3 February

In fact, the EU has let national governments decide how to package products such as milk and bread. As the European Commission says, “The confusion arose when the European Parliament wanted to introduce standard sizes for milk packaging. However, an amendment allows for the use of both metric and imperial measurements. Bread packaging will continue to be governed by national law.” (Source: http://blogs.ec.europa.eu/ECintheUK/pinta-and-loaf-under-threat-2/) The EU has continued to allow the use of the pint for draught beer and cider and for doorstep milk. These derogations for the UK remain in force.

Euromyth 4: Acres have been outlawed by Brussels

The story about the demise of the acre in the UK has appeared in several newspapers. It has generated the following interesting headlines in British newspapers:

Rolling acres are outlawed by Brussels (The Daily Telegraph, 21 July 2008)

(The Daily Telegraph, 21 July 2008) Acre shaker – EU meddlers sneak in a ban on our historic land measure (The Sun, 21 July 2008)

(The Sun, 21 July 2008) Now the EU is to ban the acre (Daily Express, 21 July 2008)

(Daily Express, 21 July 2008) After 800 years, the acre is history (Daily Mail, 22 July 2008)

(Daily Mail, 22 July 2008) Brussels, stay off our little patch of land (The Times, 22 July 2008)

Contrary to all the sensational headlines about the abolition of the acre, the UK government has agreed to remove the derogation for the use of the acre for land registry to reflect current UK practice. The hectare has been used exclusively by the Land Registry since 1995 and the UK government had officially used hectares in its dealings with farmers for two decades when it agreed to drop the exemption for the acre.

Euromyth 5: Brussels bans pints of shandy

There was a claim that it will be a criminal offence for a pub to sell mixed drinks such as shandy in a pint from 1 October 1995. This claim appear in The Publican on 21 November 1994 and in the Sunday Telegraph on 27 November 1994.

Contrary to reports about the use of the pint, the UK government successfully got a derogation for the use of the pint for serving draught beer and cider. Soft drinks are however sold in metric quantities, not only in the EU but elsewhere in the world including the USA. This muddle leaves publicans with a problem. How it is resolved is a matter for British authorities.

Euromyth 6 : Delicacies must be sold in quantities over one and a quarter ounces

On 13 January 1995, The Times published a letter that claimed that nobody can buy delicacies weighing less then one and a quarter ounces and that any retailers trying to sell delicacies weighing less than this can be prosecuted for breaking the law.



The European Commission responded that it has little to do with the EU. The EU measure that the letter refers to relates to the use of non-automatic weighing instruments mainly for pharmaceuticals and precious metals. The Commission says that, “In implementing the Directive, the Department of Trade and Industry supplemented it to deal with certain conditions of use, one of which disallowed the weighing of items on machines below their minimum capacity. Extended it to the retail sector, this measure is shortly to be repealed, but will still apply to precious metals and pharmaceuticals. It should be noticed that this supplementary measure was purely national and was not catered for by the original EU Directive.” (Source: http://blogs.ec.europa.eu/ECintheUK/delicacies-must-be-sold-in-quantities-over-one-and-a-quarter-pounds/)

Euromyth 7: Wine must be served in government-stamped glasses by standard quantities

On 20 December 1994, the Financial Times claimed that wine must be served in marked glasses in quantities of 125 ml or 175 ml, or multiples thereof. Wrong. The actual legislation that regulates quantities of wine served on business premises is the Weights and Measures (Various Foods) (Amendment) Order 1990, which came into effect on 1 January 1995. The Financial Times seems to have confused this measure with the EU legislation on units of measurement that was introduced in 1994.

Euromyth 8: By retaining imperial measures, the UK is resisting the EU

On 30 May 2011, the Daily Express ran a story that claimed that ASDA supermarket has started selling strawberries by the pound in an EU snub. It claimed that, “The supermarket has ­become the first major UK retailer to ignore a 1995 EU directive ordering shopkeepers to sell fruit and vegetables in metric grams and kilos or face the threat of prosecution.”.

The supermarket decided to sell punnets of strawberries in imperial-based sizes but they were still labelled in metric units. Several years before this Daily Express story appeared, the the UK government had abolished most controls on quantities of packaged food and drink, including fresh strawberries. The EU has consistently extended derogations on measurement for particular purposes at the behest of the UK government. In 2007, the European Commission shelved plans to end both supplementary indications and derogations on imperial units for road signs for speed and distance, draught beer and cider, doorstep milk and precious metals.

Metrication euromyths and rational debate on metrication

The metrication issue has become politicised and wrongly associated with the EU. Successive government ministers are to blame for hiding behind EU directives instead of explaining to the general public why the adoption of the metric system is a good idea. In the BBC News website’s “Guide to the best euromyths”, the first one on its list is under of heading “Decimal Diktat”. One widely believed myth is that “Brussels is forcing Britain to give up its beloved imperial measurements”. BBC News says that, “The UK committed itself to gradually going metric in a white paper in 1972, a year before it joined the European Community. But once in, its obligation to make the switch was formalised.” (Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6481969.stm). The European Commission had said that it has no desire to force the pace of change.

On the back page of The New European newspaper (edition: 15-21 July 2016), there was a list of 48 myths dispelled. One of these was a myth about the EU and the metric system (Myth Number 18). The whole paragraph about this issue said:

“Pounds and ounces aren’t coming back. Brexit doesn’t mean a return to the imperial system. Britain decided to go metric in 1965, eight years before joining the EEC, and of our major trade partners only America still shuns metrication. Plus everyone under 25 probably thinks feet and inches are an EDM DJ duo.”

After Brexit, we need to move on from these EU myths and have a rational debate about the merits of completing the transition to the international measurement system for all official, legal, trade and administrative purposes. Surely, the past may be an interesting place to visit, but it is no place to live.

General euromyth sources:

http://blogs.ec.europa.eu/ECintheUK/euromyths-a-z-index/ (Euromyths A-Z index)

http://www.voxeurop.eu/en/content/article/3651181-british-tabloids-and-their-euromyths (British tabloids and their Euromyths)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6481969.stm (“Guide to the best euromyths”, BBC News website, 23 March 2007)

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/06/08/eu.facts.myths/index.html (“Euromyths: Fact and Fiction”, CNN.com, 8 June 2004)

http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2016-06-13/world-news/Boisterous-UK-media-fuel-EU-myths-but-is-anyone-listening-6736159266 (“Boisterous UK media fuel EU myths, but is anyone listening?”, The Independent, 13 June 2016)

Metrication euromyth sources:

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