[hpaavola]

Directive 2002/24/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CEL...) states:

"cycles with pedal assistance which are equipped with an auxiliary electric motor having a maximum continuous rated power of 0,25 kW, of which the output is progressively reduced and finally cut off as the vehicle reaches a speed of 25 km/h, or sooner, if the cyclist stops pedalling"

So, vehicles which do not require user to pedal, are not electric bicycles. Those are something else. Yes, it is legal to drive such vehicles, but those are not ebikes. Typically those vehicles require you to have an insurance, possibly type approval and maybe even drivers license, depending how fast they go and how powerful the motor is.

[pjmlp]

What EU says and what each member state decides upon isn't alwayys the same thing.

So regardless how you feel like calling them, in Germany they are still sold as ebikes in name, even if conditions to drive them aren't the same.

In fact, the ebikes that require use of pedal are referred to as pedalec over here.

Additionally, Europe !== EU.

[hpaavola]

The very same limitations mentioned in the directive are in effect also in Germany. Bicycles with assistive motors up to 0.25 (nominal) kW and max assistive speed of 25km/h are effectively bicycles from law point of view. If the motor has more power and/or the max assistive speed is >25<45km/h, it's speed pedelec, not an electric bicycle. If the motor works without the rider pedaling at all, then it's a moped. The only difference here is that electric bicycles are in Germany called pedelec when pretty much rest of the world calls them ebikes.

[pjmlp]

If you ask a random person on the street how all of those are called, most likely they will answer ebike.