John,
Is there such limits in Europe?
No and yes. [The following applies to Sweden] You can't put more than 100% load on the plugs*, but the circuits can have overcurrent protection which is less than the rating of the socket. Thus, you can plug a 16A appliance into a 10A circuit. Inconvenience is the user's problem, not the codemaker's. I.e. a design issue, not a safety issue.
* Cooker (range) manufacturers cheat a little on this: You will find that the 14kW cookers have 16A plugs on them. (16A at 400V 3-ph equals 10.8kW) The cooker in my home draws about 5kW and is on a 16A single ph. 2.5mm2 circuit. It has never caused any problems.
[This message has been edited by C-H (edited 08-01-2003).]
[This message has been edited by C-H (edited 08-01-2003).]
