EU to allow Britain and Ireland to retain imperial measurements

The British and the Irish can still down a pint of beer, walk a mile, covet an ounce of gold and eat a pound of bananas after the European Union ruled Tuesday that the countries could retain measurements dating to the Middle Ages.Under a previous EU plan, Britain and Ireland would have been forced to phase out imperial measurements by 2009. But after a vociferous anti-metric campaign by British EU-skeptics and the London tabloid press, EU officials decided that an ounce of common sense, which equals 28.34 grams of common sense, suggested that granting a reprieve was better than braving a public backlash.

The EU also feared that forcing Britain to abolish the imperial system would have damaged EU trade with the United States, one of those countries, including Liberia and Myanmar, that have not adopted the metric system.

Britain and Ireland officially use the metric system, but imperial measures are still often used alongside their metric equivalents. Under the EU decision, they can retain miles on road signs and pubs may continue to serve pints of beer. Other goods must be sold in metric quantities, but retailers can also display imperial equivalents.

A British grocer, Steve Thoburn of Sunderland, became known as the "metric martyr" when he was convicted in 2001 of measuring fruits and vegetables in pounds and ounces instead of kilograms. A court gave him a six-month conditional discharge. He died of a heart attack in 2004 just days after learning that his appeal to the European Court of Human Rights against a conviction for using nonmetric scales in his market stall, had been rejected.

The EU has long tried to dispel myths that its zealous bureaucrats are trying to impinge on national cultures by harmonizing standards in the world's biggest trading bloc. Such myths have included that cucumbers sold in the EU must be straight and must not arch more than 10 millimeters, or about a third of an inch, for every 10 millimeters of their length; that it is against EU health rules to feed swans stale bread; and that Brussels had decided that shellfish must be given rest breaks and stress-relieving showers during boat journeys of more than 50 kilometers, or about 30 miles.

Günter Verheugen, the EU's enterprise commissioner, said the decision to allow the imperial system to live on - which still must be approved by EU governments - showed that the EU "honors the culture and traditions of Great Britain and Ireland."

A British government spokesman praised the decision as good for Britain.