The IEC / CENELEC plug depicted above is however polarised and could be easily rolled out in the UK and Ireland. The only difference would be that UK and Irish sockets would need to be fused where used on ring circuits.
The original proposal for the UK (and Ireland) was pretty simple. Because the sockets are significantly smaller than a BS1363 socket outlet it would be quite easy to produce a UK-spec wall plate that had a small fuse carrier, just like a fused spur and a socket. Or, in the case of double-sockets, 2 fuses.
Micro-breakers could also be installed in place of a fuse.
The result would be a 16amp fused socket which would be as good or better protection than the standard version which would be used in the rest of Europe.
The only problem with this solution is that it fails a cost/benefit analysis.
BS1363 and CEE 7/7 are regarded as very safe solutions. Both systems provide an easy-to-use robust way of connecting appliances and modern installations are very safe right across the EU.
The countries which do use strange semi-compatible variants of CEE 7/7 i.e. Denmark and Italy who have their own versions have opted to change to socket outlets that are compatible.
In the case of italy the national standard is like this :
The new version of their sockets:
So, they've rolled out Schuko socket outlets that have a ground hole in the centre and can accept either CEE 7/7 or the Italian system without any safety or convienence comprimise.
Denmark has a 3-pin socket
This system has a huge safety problem as it's possible to connect a grounded CEE 7/7 (standard European) plug to it without connecting the earth!! The live and neutral pins are in the correct configuration to fit the danish outlet but there are no clips or earthing pin.
As a result, Denmark's now rolling out the French system
They are keeping their strict polarisation requirements, so the live and neutral pins will always be in the correct order when used with a CEE 7/7 plug.
This only leaves the UK, Ireland, Malta and Cyprus who use BS1363
and Switzerland who tend to have their own standards for almost everything anyway for trade-protection reasons.
So, basically Europe has ended up with a de facto main standard i.e. CEE 7/7 which is used by pretty much all countries in all modern installations.
and BS1363 as an alternative minor standard which is only used in the UK, Ireland, Malta and Cyprus.
CENELEC basically has decided to leave it like that. They're more concerned about standardising and harmonising more important things like the mandatory use of RCDs, appliance safety standards, cable and wire standards, grounding, distribution networks, industrial safety etc.
To get back to the topic however, European (that includes UK and Ireland) appliances are standardised and will work happily and safely on either a CEE 7/7 (Schuko) or BS1363 (UK 3-pin) plug. Just ensure that the plug is wired correctly and that it connected to a modern, grounded socket outlet.
The appliance will have been designed to function well on either polarity, even though it has been sold in the UK.
The only thing to always remember is that if you are servicing an appliance (that includes changing light bulbs on lamps) ALWAYS remove the plug from the wall socket. Never rely on the fact that the switch has de-energised all of the internal components. A switch is only there to interrupt the circuit and stop the flow of power through the appliance, not to make it internally safe to work on.
Neutral (blue) wires should always be treated as potentially carrying deadly voltages.