Recently visited Lefkada in September 2010 and I was amazed at the number of EEC laws not being adhered to.

We traveled on a bus where the bus driver was smoking.

We traveled in a Taxi where the driver was not wearing his seat belt, he lit a cigarette then took a call on his mobile telephone.

I only saw four people wearing crash helmets on mopeds or motor bikes and they turned out to be British Tourists.

Nearly ever restraunt we went in had people smoking inside. Including one we walked into which had no customers but all three staff in it were smoking when we arrived.

Are the above incidents legal there ?

Legal? No. Are the laws still ignored? Yes. As the saying goes: Old Habits Die Hard.

Except in matters concerning cross-border trading, there's no such thing as an "EEC law". Most national laws "blamed" by British tabloids on "EU legislation" are in fact derived from the European Convention on Human Rights, which has no connection at all with the EU or its antecedent Communities such as the EEC.

And, as far as I'm aware, every single event the poster's described is illegal in England ENTIRELY because our Parliament has decided, without any prompting from any EU decision, to make it so.

I've no idea whether those events are legal in Greece or not. The decision to ban them or legalise them is almost entirely one for the Greeks. As, of course, are local decisions about enforcing any laws that might have been passed.

Barking up the wrong tree. Nothing do to with the EEC which ceased to exist back in 1993 when it became the EC which ceased to exist when it became the EU.

Back in those days smoking was still allowed, so if it was still the EEC there would be nothing wrong with that behavior.

Local laws are at play here, and as the previous poster said, <i>old habits die hard</i>. The smoking ban will take a while to sink in.

Are you even sure that the cell-phone use was illegal at that time in that location?

A Brit abroad surely doesn't have to abide by the laws back home? Is there a local Greek law making helmets mandatory? That's far from universal. There isn't in many states of the US, Colorado for one.

There are no EU "smoking laws".
Most national legislation is that area (no smoking in restaurants, partially or fully, buses, trains, etc.) is derived from an EU Directive dealing with the safety and well-being at the workplace. The target of the Directive is not the customer but those people working at the establishments.
To achieve that goal, member states go different ways since an EU Directive is not direct law, but needs to get transposed into national laws of the Member States.
Some outlaw smoking in general, others exempt owner-operated bars and pubs, others call for seperate smoking lounges without service, and others differentiate by size of the establishment.
So it is perfectly legal that the UK bans smoking in pubs and restaurants altogether, while Spain has only a partial ban.
It's a bit similar like in the US (though there is no real analogy) where you have diverging State laws.

There is also no EU law for safety belts (besides that cars have to be equipped with them) or helmets.

And you have the issue of how national legislation is enforced.

Before someone beats me up for not being precise: There are, of course, no "UK laws" in this field but those of the different countries.

.....A Brit abroad surely doesn't have to abide by the laws back home? ....

Perhaps those British tourists just preferred to use their intelligence.
A mate of my son's was buying a helmet and said, "That's expensive, haven't you got anything cheaper?"
"Got a cheap head, have you mate?"

Although state/local laws are applicable in Greece (everywhere about the country), as brotherleelove2004 said, old habits die hard. Greece is a country with laws-the problem is application and enforcement lagging far behind. Although lately the current government has managed to pull it off with better enforcement in many areas.
Now, when riding in a cab, should you feel unsafe for one, you can ask the taxi driver to drive slower (if his driving does not seem safe), or ask politely if he can put his cigarette off. I used to be a taxi driver (back in Greece) and I had to...ask customers to put their cigarettes out when most times they wanted to sneak in the cab with it !
Also, helmets are required by law, unfortunately most/many motorists decide to ignore the law (or abandon common sense...) thus the picture you saw.

Smoking in restaurants...now that's going to be another case for the...books...Eating out (for most greeks) is associated with leisure, which in turn is connected with the (hard to die ...old habit) smoking...Use your judgement and decide whether you want to ask politely the staff not to smoke ...when they serve you, or if the smoke is too close, ask to be moved to a different table. I know it sounds silly, but I had to do that (I used to be a smoker, but I quit, and since that time, smoking bothers me everywhere...including when on the beach under the umbrella ...putting up with the smoke from the people nearby..) in restaurants, as well as outdoors coffee shops...
yannis