Commission inquiry on units of measurement (Directive 80/181/EEC)

Published: 20 February 2007

Policies & Issues: Internal Market - Compliance, Standards & Enforcement

Our industry, which is representing one third of the exports of the EU's manufacturing industries, is generally satisfied with the current situation on dual labelling of SI (metric) and non-SI units that was established by Directive 80/181/EEC of 20 December 1979.

However, our industry is worried that the indication of mandatory SI units in the European Union may no longer be supplemented by indications of non-SI units of measurement after 31 December 2009, as this may add costs and administrative burden on our industry as the N°1 exporter of goods to non-metric markets such as the US. Thus we believe that at a time when the Commission is launching its drive towards simplification and reducing administrative costs, it would be incongruous to discontinue a measure, which effectively simplifies the life of manufacturers and importers.

We believe that the possibility to label products and have documentation using both metric and other units for as long as required by the market must be maintained.

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