NORTH WEST MEP BLASTS BOGUS BAGPIPE BAN CLAIM
December 22, 2005 2:23 PM
Claims that Brussels bureaucrats are set to curb New Year Hogmanay
celebrations by bringing in a bagpipe ban have been dismissed as a lot of
hot air by a North West Euro-MP.
Chris Davies says that tabloid tales about bagpipes facing the axe under new
EU rules to slash noise pollution are way off tune.
New European health rules require employers to take measures to provide ear
protection for workers exposed to noise levels louder than 87 decibels for
more than 8 hours at a time.
Although they will apply to the entertainment industry from 2008, the
Liberal Democrat MEP insists that they are intended to stop people's hearing
being damaged by loud industrial machinery not to stop the scurl of
bagpipes.
He said: "I don't believe that anyone in North West has ever been forced to
listen to the drone of bagpipes played for more than 8 hours in an enclosed
space. Bagpipe lovers across Britain can be confident that Brussels isn't
trying to curb 'normal' enjoyment."
Opinion polls suggesting that the British are the least well informed people
in Europe about how EU decisions are made. Chris Davies says that he wants
to highlight the extent to which this is due to people here being presented
with myths about the European Union which distort the reality.
He said: "Nations with the same values work together in the EU to find
shared solutions to the common problems we face. The issues can be
complicated enough without some newspapers talking nonsense."
"Our tabloid editors should raise a glass at midnight next Saturday and
declare a New Year resolution to stop making up myths about Europe."
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