The cookies popups are not the fault of the EU. It's the fault of private companies who want to collect more information than they're allowed to without installing cookie popups. All necessary cookies are allowed without a popup, so there's literally no reason for any website to ask you if you want cookies - unless they intend to do something which gratuitously risks your privacy.
The EU legislation didn't create the incentives to collect the data. The EU legislation did inform companies of community expectations, which the companies proceeded to ignore. It is the companies - and their defenders - who need to stop acting like children and take some responsibility for their choices and actions.
