Primer on Standards - OEK - OVE

(OJ 85/C136/1). It was created in order to "harmonize" the health, safety, andenvironmental requirements of Member States into one single European legislativepackage. The outcome was called New Approach Directives, which are broadregulatory requirements to which confronted products must conform. In everycase, one piece of legislation replaced 12 (15 after the last enlargement to Austria,Finland and Sweden). Member States are obliged to adopt the New ApproachDirectives because European legislation always prevails over national one, whichmust be replaced.The New Approach represents a major change in policy for it makes referenceto voluntary European Standards as the most appropriate method for technicalimplementation of legally-imposed requirements for products under Europeanlaw.In fact, it is probably the “Old Approach” that caused slow development of theInternal Market until 1985. Before this date, civil servants at the Commissionused to draft detailed technical specifications that were annexed to the Directives.This process was long and required the continuous updating of documents. Withthe New Approach, the European Commission proposed the necessary mandatoryperformance requirements to ensure health, safety, etc. and asked the 3 recognizedEuropean Standards Organizations, who created standards with the help oftechnical experts, the application of the principles that guarantee compliancewith the corresponding requirements.The New Approach provides for three European Standards Bodies to plan, draft,create and adopt standards Europe-wide. These are:CEN, the European Committee for Standardization, in Brussels, responsible forstandards in all fields except electrotechnology and telecommunicationsCENELEC, the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization, alsoin Brussels, prepares standards for electrotechnologyETSI, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute, in Sophia-Antipolis,prepares standards for TelecommunicationsThe Global Approach to Testing, Certification and Conformity Assessment, adoptedin 1989, supplements the New Approach. It provided for the establishment ofharmonized procedures to assess the conformity of products with the requirementsof the New Approach Directives and the placing of the CE Marking to suchproducts. Notified Bodies, that are officially recognized organizations withinMember States, can certify conformity on the basis of the New Approach, ifrequired by the Directive in question.Uncovering the mysteries of standardization in Europe 31