This whole mess could be avoided if the EU would ask/force the browser vendors to implement a single setting. Then they can simply ordain that web sites should

This whole mess could be avoided if the EU would ask/force the browser vendors to implement a single setting. Then they can simply ordain that web sites should follow that setting. There are a bunch of details to work out (i.e. what should be the default setting, will this be an HTTP header or some API, what granularity, etc) but I'm sure the end result will be far more beneficial to society than a zillion companies each implementing their own cookie handling logic and researching their own compliance. And I say this as a free market liberal who is skeptical of government intervention.