You are comparing apples and oranges, Keith. It is a change in EU law that changes (will change) the second statement and it is only a change in the same law that can change the first. There is nothing whatever that the UK CAA can do about it.
Yes I am aware of the fact that these things are not within the gift of the CAA.
But BEagles post implied that any statement made by the CAA immediately becomes set in stone and will inevitably come to pass. The point of my post was that none of these things are ever that cut and dried. How many of the recent changes have actually taken place on the predicted date?
The real problem is that when the option of delaying the implementation was being considered the people involved, including the CAA rep, should have considered the knock-on effects of any delay.