Good luck finding corn syrup in Europe, lol. The only reason why it's so dominant on the sugar market here is because we have an outrageously strong corn lobby. They put high fructose corn syrup into everything. Blech.
Taffy is basically a chewy candy that's been around for ages. The most common form here in the United States is salt-water taffy, which you can buy at almost any seaside resort candy store here. It's easily made at home, but most people don't like the muscle it involves: the taffy must be pulled to attain its chewy nature.
Here is a recipe for honey taffy that I found that does not include corn syrup:
http://www.recipezaar.com/16744
Personally, I don't eat much taffy--I have too much dental work and nothing pulls out fillings like taffy.