George Glass,
In my 9 years as an EN controller I can Assure you that EN was never the tail that wagged the dog!!
The decision to use 09 or not for anything was only ever up to Approach and ML tower and subject to wind components discussed elsewhere. The processing of MED traffic into EN was the only impact from EN.
I’m no longer in the ATC game so am an apologist for no one but fair crack of the whip - ATCs everywhere and every day work the rule set they are handed.
KIR