I don't think that kind of difference matters in the eyes of those who created the directive. I believe if you store a cookie that is later used to recover locale information stored on your server, that would not exempt you from the consent and refusal provisions. But I could be wrong.
[Edit] In any event, I agree with you that the article blows this issue completely out of proportion.
> I don't think that kind of difference matters in the eyes of those who created the directive.
Note: what matters is the difference in the eyes of those who interpret the directive. In this sense, the actual verbiage (and not authorial intent) is paramount.
[Edit] In any event, I agree with you that the article blows this issue completely out of proportion.