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A euromyth is an exaggerated or invented story about allegedly nonsensical EU legislation or EU bodies. The term has also been applied by Eurosceptics to purportedly misleading or exaggerated claims by the European Commission, and some assert that the term is falsely applied to true stories.
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Sometimes debate as to whether a particular claim is true or not continues long after the original story appeared. On occasions, Euromyths may arise when the actions of a different European organisation, such as the Council of Europe, are erroneously attributed to the EU.
The European Union has introduced a policy of publicly rebutting negative coverage that it regards as unfair or distorted.
Source of euromyths
Accusations of distorted or untruthful reporting are most commonly directed at conservative and Eurosceptic sections of the British media. Stories often present the European civil service as drafting rules that "defy common sense". Examples cited as Euromyths include stories about rules banning mince-pies, curved bananas and mushy peas. Others include a story that English fish and chips shops would be forced to use Latin names for their fish (Sun, 5 September 2001), quoted in that double-decker buses would be banned (The Times, 9 April 1998), that British rhubarb must be straight, and that barmaids would have to cover up their cleavage.
In some cases Euromyth stories have been traced to deliberate attempts by lobbyists to influence actions by the European bureaucracy, for instance the reintroduction of customs duties within the EU. EU officials have also claimed that many such stories result from unclear or misunderstood information on complicated policies, and are claimed to have seized on minor errors in stories as evidence that they are entirely fictional.
Straight bananas
The alleged ban on curved bananas is a long-standing, famous, and stereotypical claim that is used in headlines to typify the Euromyth. Amongst other issues of acceptable quality and standards, the regulation does actually specify minimum dimensions. It also states that bananas shall be free from deformation or abnormal curvature. However, the provisions relating to shape apply fully only to bananas sold as Extra class; some defects of shape (but not size) are permitted in Class I and Class II bananas.
On 29 July 2008, the European Commission held a preliminary vote towards repealing certain regulations relating to other fruit and vegetables (but not bananas). According to the Commission's press release, "In this era of high prices and growing demand, it makes no sense to throw these products away or destroy them [...] It shouldn't be the EU's job to regulate these things. It is far better to leave it to market operators." Some Eurosceptic sources have claimed this to be an admission that the original regulations did indeed ban undersized or misshapen fruit and vegetables.
On 25 March 2010, a BBC article stated that there were EU shape standardisation regulations in force on: "apples, citrus fruit, kiwi fruit, lettuces, peaches and nectarines, pears, strawberries, sweet peppers, table grapes and tomatoes," and "Marketing standards for 26 types of produce had been scrapped in November 2008, following information that a fifth of produce had been rejected by shops across the EU for failing to meet the requirements."
Eurosausage
The story of the "eurosausage" and the Commission wanting to rename the British banger an "emulsified high fat offal tube", has entered folk consciousness, despite being part of the satirical television programme Yes Prime Minister.