No, consent is not assumed. From my understanding, most browsers are generally set up to accept cookies automatically. If it was the other way round, and users had to physically change their settings, this could be an appropriate opt-in.
The E-Privacy Directive specifically contemplates browser solutions as being a potential solution, however, I understand that at this stage, there isn't an acceptable implementation.
If for example a browser on first load asked what I wanted to do with cookies during that session, that might be acceptable.
I suspect browser makes are hesitant to work towards a solution because it would obviously be a blanket policy when it may be more appropriate for a more nuanced one dependent on each each site's cookie usage.
You can obviously configure cookies in your browser settings but I imagine for most users this option is overly complex for them to understand.
Sorry for the brevity, but the only thing I can think of is: A-fucking-men. This is a colossal waste of time and resources, and it's a completely distraction from other -real-, -actual- privacy concerns that every day citizens should have. This is not one of them, and there is already a solution.
Actually that would be a good potential solution to have cookies on browsers automatically disabled but one that advertising networks and companies that rely heavily on advertising revenue (Google for example) are lobbying hard against for obvious reasons. As a result, I don't think this option will make an appearance anytime soon.
Isn't consent assumed by the fact that they've configured their browser to accept cookies?