Fantastic. To condense everything:
My first assumption was wrong. It was extremely naive of me to suppose that the EU would be so smart as to use a reality show as an opinion survey. That would not only be free, but perhaps even turn out a little profit! No, the EU has jobs to justify and money to spend that would otherwise be redirected to a different department.
Yesterday there was still doubt wether the declarations of intentions were a last minute excuse to cover a fiasco or sincere. After this news it pends towards sincerity. However it started (did the government seek them first or vice-versa?), the show was neatly inserted in-between a chain of coincidences.
The chronological order of my known facts is this:
1) A real survey was done in October-November last year but conveniently reported at the beginning of May.
2) Assuming the producers are sincere and not hiding behind false intentions, from the very beginning this thing was meant to be a debate kick-starter, a trigger. No doubt that given the results of the survey they were expecting a warmer welcome, especially in Holland. The announcement about this show took place later in May.
3) At the end of May the EU's health commissioner starts a push for an EU-wide donor card. If the show had received a better reception not only would the H-commissar have his project approved in a flash but the favorable atmosphere could be carried over into June, allowing the EU to pass any other law it saw fit.
Now let's wait and see if this mess increases organ donations.