# C_2008120EN.01001401.xml

| 16.5.2008 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 120/14 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

16.5.2008

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 120/14

---

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 80/181/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to units of measurement’

COM(2007) 510 final — 2007/0187 (COD)

(2008/C 120/02)

On 26 September 2007 the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under Article 95 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the

Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 80/181/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to units of measurement.

Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 80/181/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to units of measurement.

The Section for the Single Market, Production and Consumption, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 21 November 2007. The rapporteur was Mr Cassidy.

Mr Cassidy

At its 440th plenary session, held on 12 and 13 December 2007 (meeting of 12 December), the European Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 114 votes, with two abstentions.

1.   Conclusions and recommendations

| 1.1 | The EESC approves the present proposal without reservation. |
| --- | --- |

1.1

The EESC approves the present proposal without reservation.

| 1.2 | The Directive mentions end 2009 as the deadline for using ‘supplementary indications’ i.e. non-metric indications. Maintaining this deadline would be a cost for all EU enterprises involved in trans-Atlantic trade. |
| --- | --- |

1.2

The Directive mentions end 2009 as the deadline for using ‘supplementary indications’ i.e. non-metric indications. Maintaining this deadline would be a cost for all EU enterprises involved in trans-Atlantic trade.

| 1.3 | The Directive also requires the UK and Ireland to fix a deadline concerning the exemptions to use the pint, mile and troy ounces. |
| --- | --- |

1.3

The Directive also requires the UK and Ireland to fix a deadline concerning the exemptions to use the pint, mile and troy ounces.

| 1.4 | The Commission's proposal is to get rid of these deadlines not replacing them with new ones. |
| --- | --- |

1.4

The Commission's proposal is to get rid of these deadlines not replacing them with new ones.

| 1.5 | The Directive defines as the legal units of measurement in the EU the metric units or SI units meaning Système International, which is the worldwide system adopted by the Conférence générale des poids et mesures (CGPM) in 1960. Though the European Union itself is not a signatory, all Member States are. The regular updating of SI units for technical progress leads to the Commission proposing to adopt as the ‘katal’ symbol as the SI unit for catalytic activity. |
| --- | --- |

1.5

The Directive defines as the legal units of measurement in the EU the metric units or SI units meaning Système International, which is the worldwide system adopted by the Conférence générale des poids et mesures (CGPM) in 1960. Though the European Union itself is not a signatory, all Member States are. The regular updating of SI units for technical progress leads to the Commission proposing to adopt as the ‘katal’ symbol as the SI unit for catalytic activity.

Système International

Conférence générale des poids et mesures

| 1.6 | The EESC welcomes this Commission proposal as part of the drive to simplify and improve legislation and welcomes the Commission's sensitivity in acknowledging the importance of ‘subsidiarity’ for Ireland and the UK. |
| --- | --- |

1.6

The EESC welcomes this Commission proposal as part of the drive to simplify and improve legislation and welcomes the Commission's sensitivity in acknowledging the importance of ‘subsidiarity’ for Ireland and the UK.

Brussels, 12 December 2007.

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Dimitris DIMITRIADIS

---