
To counter the prejudice that Brussels-based EU officials merely twiddle their thumbs or issue “bent cucumber rules”, the European Commission has published a guide presenting the EU’s achievements for its citizens in 2009. Decisions taken at a European level have numerous consequences on our daily lives: the EU enforced cheaper phone calls across Europe and standardised chargers for mobile phones, it increases costumers’ rights for online shopping and it brought in new rules to cut down harmful pollutants from petrol or pesticides. Still not convinced? More examples can be found in the guide, which can be downloaded as PDF.