Originally Posted by ononno

I've been quite surprised by how many people don't realise that many countries in the EU are governed by legislation based on the Napoleonic Code. They include Belgium and Brussels, which is why so much EU legislation doesn't sit well with Anglo Saxon concepts of Common Law. Brought up and schooled living with Common Law as part of our lives we say 'if it isn't against the law, it's a free country, and we can do whatever we please as long as it doesn't harm anybody else'.
On the other hand, the Napoleonic Codes do exactly the opposite. Every possible aspect of daily living is codified by Civil and Penal codes. So you have to say to yourself 'if there isn't a law that permits what I want to do, it is against the law', and lobbying starts for a law to be passed that makes legal whatever it is you want to achieve. Of course in France, Italy, Spain, as soon as new EU regulations are introduced they say 'right, so now we must be able to find a way round it'. In Whitehall they say 'right, now how do we go about applying this'.
Food for thought.
'lluego
'o nonno