Conservative MEPs claim to have secured the future of the much-loved crown symbol on British pint glasses.
The EU had ruled that the crown symbol would need to be replaced with a Europe-wide CE mark. But Tory MEPs claim to have fought and won the right to keep the crown alongside the new CE symbol - although where it has previously stood as a symbol of the standard measurement, it will essentially become a meaningless decoration now.
In response to a letter from Conservative MEP John Bowis, vice-president of the European Commission Gunter Verheugen explained that national markings indicating the reliability of the measurement are not allowed next to the CE marking.
However, he added that if the crown stamp was now considered as voluntary and meaning something else,
"a crown stamp look-alike could naturally be affixed to the glass, as long as it is done in such a way that
it is not confused with the
CE marking."
John Bowis MEP said: "This always appeared to be a case of over-interpretation of
a directive by the UK
authorities.
"I do not believe the crown marking would deceive the public about the meaning or form of the CE marking. On the contrary, it would reinforce consumer confidence.
"The crown symbol has been used on pint glasses for over 300 years. I hope that glass manufacturers will no longer hesitate to continue using it in the future."
Conservative MEP Malcolm Harbour, Internal Market Spokesman, has also been working closely on this issue.
He added: "This is another example of British civil servants interpreting EU law in an excessively pernickety way.
"We always considered that a dual marking would not confuse consumers and are pleased that the Commission has confirmed our view."
l Brussels has made a dramatic U-turn by conceding that Britain can keep its pounds and ounces. The European Commission has accepted that using only the metric system would be bad for business. The present dual labelling system will continue indefinitely.
The safety of the British pint has already been ensured by an opt out in the EU directive that allows beer and milk to be served in pints.