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 {SEC(2007) 1136} {SEC(2007) 1137}
Date: 2007-09-10
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, approximation of laws, international standard, measuring equipment, weights and measures

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 10.9.2007 
COM(2007) 510 final 

2007/0187 (COD) 

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 

(presented by the Commission) 

{SEC(2007) 1136} 
{SEC(2007) 1137} 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

Following  a  wide  consultation  of  stakeholders  and  an  impact  assessment,  the  Commission 
proposes updating the Directive 80/181/EEC to include consumer protection and environment 
in its scope, to include as a legal unit the new SI unit for catalytic activity (katal) to allow the 
use of supplementary indications indefinitely and no longer to require the UK and Ireland to 
end the limited local exemptions for pint, mile and troy ounce where they are still in use. 

1. 

BACKGROUND 

1.1. 

Existing legislation 

The Directive is applicable since 1980 and has served to standardise the use of legal units of 
measurement within the EU in accordance with the International System (SI) promulgated by 
the competent international body, the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures. 

1.2. 

The need for review 

There is a sundown clause (Art. 3.2) in the Directive, which would no longer allow the use of 
supplementary (non-metric) indications by 2009. If it were to apply, the EU would require all 
labelling to be in metric-only and this can give problems to economic operators and disturb 
international trade and competitiveness because the USA requires non-metric labelling next to 
metric.  The  Directive  (Art.  6a)  specifies  that  issues  regarding  its  implementation,  and  in 
particular the matter of supplementary indications, should be further examined. 

Also the Directive needs to be updated in line with technical progress, meaning in this case 
the inclusion of new metric units about which there is international agreement. In the case of 
new  metric  units,  due  to  technical  progress,  Member  States  would  otherwise  implement 
national laws, which in certain cases may require relabelling, notably in the case of different 
moments of implementation of these national laws. 

UK and in some cases Ireland would need to fix a date for ending the last exemptions under 
Article 1.b, where they are still being applied (pint for milk in returnable bottles and beer and 
cider on draught, mile for road traffic signs, speed and distance measurements, troy ounce for 
transactions  in  precious  metals).  Experience  has  however  shown  that  these  usages  are  local 
without any impediment to cross border trade. 

The exemption of the acre for land registration allowed under Art 1.b however is no longer in 
use, because of changes in administrative procedures in both Member States. 

1.3. 

Impact assessment of policy alternatives 

As part of the policy on better regulation1 the Commission implemented an impact assessment 
of policy alternatives2, which considered three alternatives: no action, repealing the Directive 
and updating the Directive. 

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Interinstitutional  Agreement  on  better  law-making  signed  in  December  2003  and  European 
Governance: Better lawmaking, COM(2002) 275 final, 5.6.2002 
Impacts of Policy Alternatives of 28 May 2003 published in June 2003 

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The  impact  assessment  showed  the  alternative  of  “updating  the  Directive”  as  the  preferred 
option,  because  it  maintains  the  existing  situation  and  requires  no  new  administrative  costs, 
which in this area concern mainly labelling costs. This alternative includes a synergy between 
extending  the  use  of  supplementary  indications  and  continuing  flexibility  as  regards  non-
metric applications in the current practice of enforcing the Directive, notably in sectors that 
use measurement for which no metric unit exist, e.g. binary measurements in computing (bits, 
bytes).  This  alternative  would  ensure  a  continued  application  of  the  current  practice  which 
has,  on  the  whole,  not  shown  major  problems.  Allowing  UK  and  Ireland  indefinite 
exemptions (pint, mile, troy ounce) recognises the local nature and impact of the exemptions 
and is in line with the principle of subsidiarity. 

The  main  costs  resulting  from  the  alternative  of  “no  action”  would  be  administration  costs 
which  are  significant  and  probably  will  be  highest  for  small-  and  medium-sized  enterprises 
due to less scale effects. In order to keep the impact assessment proportionate no full estimate 
has  been  made  using  the  standard  cost  model,  but  the  quite  similar  estimates  from  various 
sources in industry are relied upon. 

Costs resulting from the other alternative of “repealing the Directive” are very uncertain but 
could easily be high and relate to the fact that Member States may implement the international 
standards differently thus causing uncertainty and possibly barriers to trade. Also there might 
be  costly  losses  on  an  incidental  basis  due  to  misunderstandings,  for  example  the  US 
Marslander  spacecraft  that  crashed  on  Mars  due  to  malfunctioning  because  inch/pound 
indications had been mixed up with metric indications in the production phase. 

Authorising the supplementary indications for another 10 year period (a fourth deadline after 
1989, 1999 and 2009) would imply major future changes in at least three policy areas (in vitro 
diagnostics, nutritional labelling and intellectual property rights) and would not be considered 
as a positive signal for change in the United States, which if it allowed metric-only labelling 
would be rewarded by an EU trade barrier to labelling with supplementary indications. 

2. 

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE PROPOSAL 

2.1. 

Simplification and better regulation 

It  is  proposed  for  the  reasons  set  out  above  to  maintain  the  existing  situation  because  it 
requires no new administrative costs, which in this area concern mainly labelling costs. This 
can be considered a simplification. 

The proposal includes a synergy between extending the use of supplementary indications and 
continuing  flexibility  as  regards  non-metric  applications  in  the  current  practice  of  enforcing 
the  Directive,  notably  in  sectors  that  use  measurement  for  which  no  metric  unit  exist,  e.g. 
binary measurements in computing (bits, bytes) It would ensure a continued application of the 
current  practice  which  has,  on  the  whole,  not  shown  major  problems  and  this  can  be 
considered to be better regulation. 

Allowing  UK  and  Ireland  to  continue  with  exemptions  indefinitely  (pint,  mile,  troy  ounce) 
does  not  lead  to  barriers  to  trade  and  not  requiring  a  change  here  can  be  considered 
compatible with the principle of subsidiarity. 

2.2. 

Legal Basis 

The legal basis for the proposed Directive is Article 95 of the EC Treaty. 

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3. 

COHERENCE WITH COMMUNITY PRINCIPLES 

3.1. 

Proportionality 

The objective of the Directive is to ensure that the use of units of measurement is harmonised 
on the basis of the international agreement on the system of SI units for expressing quantities. 
It adapts the exemptions in a way that no follow-up is required anymore and so that market 
operators have a stable and permanent regulatory environment. 

The required update is due to external influences, i.e. the USA is still engaged in a gradual 
process  to  fully  adapt  its  legal  system  to  the  use  of  metric-only  labelling,  whilst  industry  is 
comfortable  with  measurements  in  non-metric  units,  due  to  tradition  or  lack  of  metric 
alternatives. 

Allowing the continued use of supplementary indications does not mean that the Community 
accepts the current non-tariff barriers in third countries against goods labelled exclusively in 
SI  units.  This  represents  a  difficulty  which  is  of  prime  concern  to  the  Community  and  will 
need to continue to be addressed bilaterally in the Commission’s ongoing contacts with such 
third countries. The situation in these third countries has gradually improved during the past 
decade, but would need to improve further before these countries can be said to fully apply 
the current international standards regarding SI units. 

3.2. 

Subsidiarity 

EU  is  not  a  signatory  of  the  Metre  Convention  agreement  on  metric  units,  but  all  Member 
States are and they are bound by the agreement to implement it in their national legislation. 
The agreement is not binding, so Member States could choose to base their laws in different 
ways on the agreement, as was the case before 1980 and may repeat itself in the case of new 
units. EU action is necessary to ensure a common approach. 

The existing Directive ensures  a common approach on the basis of Article 95  of  the Treaty 
with the result that units of measurement are harmonised on the Internal Market. As a result 
there are no barriers to trade on the Internal Market due to units of measurement, which are in 
line with international standards. 

As regards fixing a date to end the current exemptions (pint for milk in returnable bottles and 
beer and cider on draught, mile for road traffic signs, distance and speed measurements, troy 
ounce for transactions in precious metals), these seem to have no impact on the single market 
and therefore are in line with the subsidiarity principle. 

4. 

COHERENCE WITH COMMUNITY POLICIES 

4.1. 

Competitiveness 

The  proposal  maintains  the  existing  situation  by  requiring  no  new  administrative  costs,  i.e. 
mainly  labelling  costs  and  has  relatively  high  economic  benefits  EU-wide  and  worldwide. 
This  is  due  to  savings  on  administrative  costs,  which  would  be  incurred  if  no  EU  action  is 
taken. 

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4.2. 

Sustainable development 

Precise  and  correct  measurement  is  an  important  element  in  sustainable  development  for 
which the Directive is a necessary tool. This should be fully reflected in the scope, see next 
point. 

4.3. 

Other Community policies 

The  scope  of  the  existing  Directive  is  wide  and  its  scope  should  not  be  limited  to  specific 
fields  of  Community  action.  For  example,  in  consumer  protection  and  environmental 
protection  the  existing  units  of  measurement  are  being  applied.  Article  2(a)  setting  out  the 
scope of the directive should not contain references to Community objectives which already 
result from the legal basis, i.e. Article 95 of the Treaty. This is a change for an administrative 
reason and there are no costs expected whilst the current beneficial situation continues. 

5. 

REFERENCE TO THE WORK PROGRAMME 

There  is  no  mention  of  this  proposal  in  the  Commission  work  program,  the  reason  for  its 
presentation being an external one which was difficult to foresee. 

6. 

RELEVANCE FOR THE EEA  

This proposal is covered by the Agreement on the European Economic Area. 

7. 

EXTERNAL CONSULTATION 

Stakeholders  were  consulted  during  the  10-week  period  up  to  1  March  2007.  All  reactions 
were published on the Europa web site by mid April, except for those which were confidential 
and those of individual firms where there was the potential risk of a breach of confidentiality. 

Other  than  the  contributions  to  the  public  consultation,  which  among  others  came  from 
experts in the field (academics, teachers) but mostly industry, no external expertise was used. 

The  Commission’s  minimum  standards  have  been  met  and  so  in  no  way  were  reactions 
excluded. 

All input from stakeholders to the public consultation has been presented and discussed in the 
report  on  the  public  consultation.  Reactions  from  EU  industry  were  less  geographically 
imbalanced  than  of  individuals  and  were  unanimous.  The  main  conclusion  in  the  report 
follows the unanimous recommendation of industry to lift the sundown clause. 

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2007/0187 (COD) 

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 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 
95 thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee3, 

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty4, 

Whereas:  

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

Directive  80/181/EEC5  requires  the  United  Kingdom  and  Ireland  to  fix  a  date  for 
ending the exemptions, where they are still being applied, in respect of pint for milk in 
returnable  bottles  and  beer  and  cider  on  draught,  mile  for  road  signs  and  speed 
indications,  and  troy  ounce  for  transactions  in  precious  metals.  However,  experience 
has shown that, given the local character of those exemptions and the limited number 
of  products  concerned,  the  maintenance  of  the  exemptions  would  not  lead  to  the 
imposition of a non-tariff  barrier to  trade, and as a consequence there is no longer a 
need to put an end to those exemptions. 

It  is  appropriate  to  clarify  that  the  scope  of  Directive  80/181/EEC  is  consistent  with 
the objectives referred to in Article 95 of the Treaty and that it is not limited to any 
specific Community fields of action. 

Directive  80/181/EEC  authorises  the  use  of  supplementary  indications  in  addition  to 
the legal units laid down in Chapter I of the Annex to that Directive until 31 December 
2009.  However,  in  order  to  avoid  creating  obstacles  for  Community  companies 
exporting  to  certain  third  countries  that  require  products  to  be  marked  in  other  units 
than those laid down in Chapter I, it is appropriate to maintain the authorisation to use 
supplementary indications on a permanent basis. 

3  
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5 

OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
OJ  L  39,  15.2.1980,  p.  40.  Directive  as  last  amended  by  Directive  1999/103/EC  of  the  European 
Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 34, 9.2.2000, p. 17). 

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(4) 

(5) 

Supplementary  indications  would  also  allow  the  gradual  and  smooth  introduction  of 
new metric units which may be developed at the international level. 

In  1999  the  General  Conference  on  Weights  and  Measures,  adopted,  within  the 
framework of the International System of Units (SI), the “katal”, symbol “kat”, as the 
SI unit for catalytic activity. This new harmonised SI unit would ensure a coherent and 
uniform indication of units of measurement in the fields of medicine and biochemistry 
and would as a consequence eliminate any risks of misunderstanding arising from the 
use of non-harmonised units. 

(6) 

Since the acre is no longer in use for land registration purposes in the United Kingdom 
and Ireland there is no longer any need to provide for an exemption in that respect. 

(7) 

Directive 80/181/EC should therefore be amended accordingly. 

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 

Article 1 

Directive 80/181/EEC is amended as follows: 

(1) 

In Article 1, point b is replaced by the following: 

“(b) those listed in Chapter II of the Annex only in those Member States where they 
were authorized on 21 April 1973.” 

(2) 

In Article 2, point a is replaced by the following:  

“(a)  The  obligations  arising  under  Article  1  relate  to  measuring  instruments  used, 
measurements made and indications of quantity expressed in units of measurement.” 

(3) 

In Article 3, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: 

“2. The use of supplementary indications shall be authorized.” 

(4) 

The Annex is amended as follows:  

(a) 

In Chapter I, point 1.2.3, the following row is added: 

Catalytic activity  katal 

kat 

mol · s¯¹ 

(b) 

In Chapter II, the following row is deleted: 

Land registration  acre 

1 ac = 4 047 m2 

ac 

(c) 

In Chapter II, the final sentence is replaced by the following: “The units listed 
in this Chapter may be combined with each other or with those in Chapter I to 
form compound units.” 

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.Article 2 
Transposition 

1. 

Member  States  shall  adopt  and  publish,  by  [31  December  2009]  at  the  latest,  the 
laws,  regulations  and  administrative  provisions  necessary  to  comply  with  this 
Directive.  They  shall  forthwith  communicate  to  the  Commission  the  text  of  those 
provisions and a correlation table between those provisions and this Directive. 

They shall apply those provisions from [1 January 2010]. 

When  Member  States  adopt  those  provisions,  they  shall  contain  a  reference  to  this 
Directive  or  be  accompanied  by  such  a  reference  on  the  occasion  of  their  official 
publication. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made. 

2. 

Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions 
of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive. 

This Directive shall enter into force on the [20th] day following that of its publication in the 
Official Journal of the European Union. 

Article 3 

Article 4 

This Directive is addressed to the Member States. 

Done at Brussels, […] 

For the European Parliament 
The President 
[…] 

For the Council 
The President 
[…] 

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