Bendy bananas and Ampelmännchen: 10 EU regulations

Take, for example, banana regulation. According to the EU, all bananas imported into the European Union or grown there must be at least 14 centimeters (5.5 inches) long and 2.7 centimeters thick. The fruit should not be damaged, nor should it be fully ripe. These rules may sound petty, but they have their advantages: consumers will only see fresh fruit in their supermarkets.

Bees are quite energetic. But who would have thought that honey can conduct electricity, and that Brussels thought it necessary to regulate its conductivity? According to the regulation, honey may have a conductivity of no more than 0.8 microsiemens per centimeter. But there's no need to fear a shock at the breakfast table: this measurement is only used to classify the different sorts of honey.

In order to promote energy savings, the standard light bulb has been off the market in Europe since 2009. But its successors aren't without their environmental faults, either: LED lamps contain mercury, a toxic substance which must be disposed of properly. At least the new bulbs cast that popular, warm glow for which the original bulbs were so famous.

For many, Schleswig-Holstein is associated with sea, sand and endless horizons, but certainly not cable cars - the highest elevation in the northern German state is only 168 meters (about 550 feet). Nevertheless, an EU directive requires each country to adopt a cableway directive. The reason? Should anyone ever decide to build a funicular, at least the regulations will be crystal clear.

Paper goes in the blue bin, non-recyclables in the gray - at least, that's how it is in Germany. In other EU countries, it's often quite different: Green is blue, yellow is red and in some cases, nothing is separated - how can EU citizens ever keep it all straight? In such a case, a directive wouldn't be such a bad idea…and garbage wouldn't always end up in the wrong bin.

A train journey from Tallinn to Madrid: sounds simple, but think again. A standard gauge of 1,435 millimeters (about 4.7 feet) is used on most of the EU's rail network. But in Spain and Portugal the distance between the rails is greater - there, the Iberian gauge of 1,668 mm is used. In this case, a lack of EU regulation means more train transfers for travelers.

Is a plug adapter still necessary on a journey through the EU? Yes, because there are still places where the so-called Europlug doesn't fit into any wall outlet, most notably in the UK, Malta, Ireland and Cyprus. Standardization would be useful, not only for consumers but also for industry, as it would save manufacturers from having to build different plugs for electrical appliances.

Whether in Rome, Paris, London, Warsaw, Zagreb, Stockholm or Berlin - pedestrian signals are as varied as the cities they inhabit. In Germany, there are even differences within the country's borders. After reunification in 1990 the Ampelmännchen from the East faced elimination, but it was brought back thanks to the fervent support of many citizens.

To each his own…and that also applies to mailboxes! For the most part, mailboxes stick to norms which specify a standard size, volume and mail slot. The European Union, however, has stayed away from any regulation in this area. Which is a good thing, too, because mailboxes are one of the ways Europeans can express their cultural differences, and that's something we wouldn't want to lose!

In 2010 the EU drafted a directive calling for food items to be priced by weight instead of number. That means a dozen eggs or 10 apples would not be sold as a unit but rather based on total weight. But it’s hardly likely that eggs will be sold individually – at least not the common chicken’s eggs.