AFAIK the EU dictates the result, not the means. UK's first implementation of the e-Privacy Directive was unfortunate, but I don't think it means the directive was a bad idea.
An "EU Directive" is a law, it's decided on in the same democratic manner that (say) UK laws are decided on. It's like how in the UK there are "Acts of Parliament" (i.e. laws).
It's up to individual countries to implement the minimum, and likewise, each country will implement each one slightly different. The UK law and the EU Directive are basically the same, "It's illegal to do X, Y and Z unless you do W etc." There isn't really a mean/results differnce here.
