Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the "Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Directive amending Council Directive 80/181/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to units of measurement"(1)

(1999/C 169/01)

On 23 April 1999 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under Article 100a of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned proposal.

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 15 April. The rapporteur was Mr Stöllnberger.

At its 363rd Plenary Session (meeting of 28 April), the Economic and Social Committee unanimously adopted the following opinion.

1. Introduction

1.1. Council Directive 80/181/EEC(2) of 20 December 1979, as last amended by Directive 89/617/EEC(3), harmonises the use of units of measurement in the Community. It lays down as the legal units those of the Système International (SI).

1.1.1. The SI is a world-wide system, adopted by the Conférence Générale des Poids et Mesures (CGPM) in 1960. It is a coherent version of the metric system, and is described by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) in its standards ISO 1000 and ISO 31.

1.1.2. A few specific exceptions are allowed for internationally agreed units for special purposes, e.g. mm of mercury for blood pressure measurement(4).

1.1.3. Use of the SI has the advantage of rationalising component and part manufacture and sourcing as well as providing clear and comparative information for consumers. The proposed amendment does not change the status of the SI in the Community.

2. Commission proposal

2.1. Since Directive 80/181/EEC was last amended, decisions have been taken at international level that affect the definitions of SI units or their use.

2.1.1. The 19th CGPM in 1991 extended the list of prefixes to be used for multiples and submultiples of SI units. The ISO revised the standard ISO 31 in 1992 regarding the units of plane angle and solid angle. In addition, the Codata bulletin of the International Council of Scientific Unions has been superseded by a publication in 1986, which gives new experimental values for the electronvolt and the atomic mass unit. In so far as the agreements and decisions of these bodies affect the content of the Directive it must therefore be amended to take account of the changes.

2.2. Article 3(2) of Directive 80/181/EEC provided that until 31 December 1989 supplementary units of measurementin units other than the legal units of measurements could accompany the latter. This date was extended until 31 December 1999 by an amendment of the Directive in 1989 (89/617/EEC)(5).

2.2.1. After expiration of the transition period incompatibility will exist between the legislation in the Community and the US affecting the use of units when indicating values of quantities. On the one hand, the Community legislation will not permit supplementary indication in non-legal units anymore, on the other hand US legislation prescribes the simultaneous use of the units of the US customary inch-pound system and the SI.

2.2.2. It is the Commission's firm view that the solution to the problem of the use of units can only lie in the use of a global system based on the SI that is also adopted by the US. One has to keep in mind that the US is the only industrialised nation in the world not using the SI.

2.2.3. The Commission believes that as a short-term solution the US should amend its present legislation so as to permit the placing on their market of products bearing indications in SI units only. In the meantime, the EU should as an interim measure extend until 31 December 2009 the transition period during which supplementary indications in non-legal units are allowed.

3. Comments on the proposal for a Directive

3.1. It is quite appropriate for the definitions of SI units to be changed to ensure compliance with international agreements.

3.2. There is no doubt that if the deadline of 31 December 1999 is met without any changes being made to US legislation, some branches of industry will face substantial costs. These include the packaging, labelling and inventory lines. According to Commission estimates, the annual costs of compliance for one large multinational cosmetics company would be US$ 80 million. The annual costs for smaller companies are estimated by the coalition of industry representatives (representing the affected cosmetics and toiletries, artists' paints and foodstuffs sectors) would be between US$ 5 000 and several million US$.

3.2.1. Extension of the deadline will allow European manufacturers to continue to market products without the need to fulfil differing requirements regarding units of measurement.

3.2.2. The impact on Europe's consumers of extending the deadline should be limited, since they will not perceive any significant difference in labelling information from the current situation.

3.2.3. For these reasons the Committee welcomes the proposed deadline extension.

3.2.4. However, the Committee would urge the Commission to use the extra time gained to step up its efforts to achieve the removal of US provisions that require measurements to be given in units other than SI units.

3.2.5. The Committee also endorses the Commission's intention to view the application of Directive 80/181/EEC and to further examine issues concerning the implementation of the directive, in order to take appropriate measures towards the use of a global system.

Brussels, 28 April 1999.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Beatrice RANGONI MACHIAVELLI

(1) OJ C 63, 5.3.1999 p. 8, OJ C 89, 30.3.1999, p. 8.

(2) Directive 80/181/EEC, 20.12.1979, OJ L 39, 15.2.1980, p. 40.

(3) Directive 89/617/EEC, OJ L 357, 7.12.1989, p. 28.

(4) Other examples are imperial units when used on the territories of the UK and Ireland for particular uses (e.g. pint of beer on draught). A derogation is also given for the fields of air and sea transport and rail traffic, where units other than those made compulsory by the Directive may be used when they have been laid down in international conventions binding the Member States.

(5) Directive 89/617/EEC, OJ 357, 7.12.1989, p. 28.