Common Position (EC) No 28/2008 of 18 November 2008 adopted by the Council, acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, with a view to the adoption of 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)
Date: 2008-11-18
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU Member State, approximation of laws, beer, cider, domestic market, harmonisation of standards, international standard, measuring equipment, milk, weights and measures

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III

(Preparatory Acts)

COUNCIL

COMMON POSITION (EC) No 28/2008

adopted by the Council on 18 November 2008

with a view to the adoption of Directive 2008/…/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
of … 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)

(2008/C 330 E/01)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Com-
munity, 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 Committee (1),

Acting in accordance with the procedure
Article 251 of the Treaty (2),

laid down in

Whereas:

(1)

Directive 80/181/EEC (3) requires the United Kingdom
and Ireland to fix a date for ending the exemptions,
where they are still being applied, in respect of the units
of measurement known as ‘pint’ for milk in returnable
bottles and beer and cider on draught,
‘mile’ for road
signs and speed indications, and ‘troy ounce’ for transac-
tions in precious metals. However, experience has shown
that, given the local character of those exemptions and
the limited number of products concerned, maintaining
the exemptions would not result in a non-tariff barrier to
trade and, as a consequence, there is no longer a need to
put an end to those exemptions.

(1) OJ C 120, 16.5.2008, p. 14.
(2) Opinion of the European Parliament of 29 November 2007 (OJ C 297 E,
20.11.2008, p. 105), Council Common Position of 18 November
2008 and Position of the European Parliament of … (not yet published
in the Official Journal).
(3) OJ L 39, 15.2.1980, p. 40.

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

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.

I of

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

require products

Directive 80/181/EEC supports the smooth functioning
of the internal market through the level of harmonisation
of units of measurement it prescribes. In this context, it
is appropriate that
the Commission monitor market
developments relating to that Directive and its implemen-
tation, notably as concerns possible obstacles to the func-
tioning of the internal market and any further harmoni-
sation required to overcome those obstacles.

is appropriate that

It
the Commission continue to
strongly pursue, in the context of its third country trade
relations, including the Transatlantic Economic Council,
the acceptance in third country markets of products
labelled only in the units of the International System of
Units (SI).

(6)

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

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(7)

(8)

(9)

(10)

(11)

In 1995,
the General Conference on Weights and
Measures decided to eliminate the class of SI supplemen-
tary units as a separate class in the SI and to interpret the
units ‘radian’ and ‘steradian’ as dimensionless SI derived
units, the names and symbols of which may, but need
not, be used in expressions for other SI derived units, as
is convenient.

In 1999,
the General Conference on Weights and
Measures adopted, within the framework of the SI, the
‘katal’, the symbol of which is ‘kat’, as the SI unit for
catalytic activity. This new harmonised SI unit was
intended to ensure a coherent and uniform indication of
units of measurement
in the fields of medicine and
biochemistry and, as a consequence, to eliminate any risk
of misunderstanding arising from the use of non-harmo-
nised units.

In 2007, in order to eliminate one of the major sources
of the observed variability between different realisations
the water triple point, the General Conference on
of
Weights and Measures adopted a note on the definition
of the ‘kelvin’. The ‘kelvin’
is defined as a fraction of
the thermodynamic temperature of the triple point of
water. The note refers to water of a specific isotopic
composition.

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.

In accordance with point 34 of
the Interinstitutional
Agreement on better law-making (1), Member States are
encouraged to draw up, for themselves and in the inter-
ests of the Community, their own tables illustrating, as
far as possible, the correlation between this Directive and
the transposition measures, and to make them public.

(12) Directive 80/181/EEC should therefore be amended

accordingly,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

Amendments

Directive 80/181/EEC is hereby amended as follows:

(1) Article 1(b) shall be replaced by the following:

‘(b) those listed in Chapter II of the Annex only in those
authorised on

States where

they were

Member
21 April 1973.’;

(1) OJ C 321, 31.12.2003, p. 1.

(2) Article 2(a) shall be replaced by the following:

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

(3) Article 3(2) shall be replaced by the following:

The use of

‘2.
authorised.’;

supplementary indications

shall be

(4) the following Article shall be inserted:

‘Article 6b

The Commission shall monitor market developments
relating to this Directive and its implementation with regard
to the smooth functioning of
the internal market and
international trade and shall submit a report on those devel-
opments, accompanied by proposals where appropriate, to
the European Parliament and to the Council by 31 December
2019.’;

(5) the Annex shall be amended as follows:

(a) in Chapter I, point 1.1, the paragraph entitled ‘Unit of
thermodynamic temperature’ shall be replaced by the
following:

‘Unit of thermodynamic temperature

The kelvin, unit of thermodynamic temperature, is the
fraction 1/273,16 of the thermodynamic temperature of
the triple point of water.

composition

the
iso-
This definition refers
topic
following
defined
amount-of-substance ratios: 0,000 155 76 mole of 2H
per mole of 1H, 0,000 379 9 mole of 17O per mole of
16O and 0,002 005 2 mole of 18O per mole of 16O.

to water having
the
by

(Thirteenth
resolution
CGPM (1967),
Twenty-third CGPM (2007), resolution 10)’;

4

and

(b) in Chapter I, point 1.1.1, the title shall be replaced by

the following:

‘Special name and symbol of
temperature for expressing Celsius temperature’;

the SI derived unit of

(c) in Chapter I, point 1.2, the title shall be replaced by the

following:

‘1.2. SI derived units’;

(d) in Chapter I, point 1.2.1 shall be deleted;

(e) in Chapter I, points 1.2.2 and 1.2.3 shall be replaced by

the following:

‘1.2.2. General rule for SI derived units

Units derived coherently from SI base units are given as
algebraic expressions in the form of products of powers
of the SI base units with a numerical factor equal to 1.

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1.2.3. SI derived units with special names and symbols

Quantity

Unit

Expression

Name

Symbol

In terms of other
SI units

In terms of SI base
units

Plane angle

Solid angle

Frequency

Force

Pressure, stress

Energy, work; quantity of heat

Power (1), radiant flux

radian

steradian

hertz

newton

pascal

joule

watt

Quantity of electricity, electric charge

coulomb

Electric potential, potential difference,
electromotive force

volt

Electric resistance

Conductance

Capacitance

Magnetic flux

Magnetic flux density

Inductance

Luminous flux

Illuminance

ohm

siemens

farad

weber

tesla

henry

lumen

lux

Activity (of a radionuclide)

becquerel

Absorbed dose, specific energy imparted,
kerma, absorbed dose index

gray

Dose equivalent

Catalytic activity

sievert

katal

rad

sr

Hz

N

Pa

J

W

C

V

Ω

S

F

m · m–1

m2 · m–2

s–1

m · kg · s–2

N · m–2

m–1 · kg · s–2

N · m

J · s–1

m2 · kg · s–2

m2 · kg · s–3

s · A

W · A–1

m2 · kg · s–3 · A–1

V · A–1

A · V–1

C · V–1

m2 · kg · s–3 · A–2

m–2 · kg–1 · s3 ·
A2

m–2 · kg–1 · s4 ·
A2

Wb

V · s

m2 · kg · s–2 · A–1

T

H

lm

lx

Bq

Gy

Sv

kat

Wb · m–2

kg · s–2 · A–1

Wb · A–1

m2 · kg · s–2 · A–2

cd · sr

cd

lm · m–2

m–2 · cd

s–1

J · kg–1

m2 · s–2

J · kg–1

m2 · s–2

mol · s–1

(1) Special names for the unit of power: the name volt-ampere (symbol “VA”) when it is used to express the apparent power of
alternating electric current, and var (symbol “var”) when it is used to express reactive electric power. The “var” is not included
in GCPM resolutions.

Units derived from SI base units may be expressed in terms of the units listed in Chapter I.

In particular, derived SI units may be expressed by the special names and symbols given in the above
table;
for example, the SI unit of dynamic viscosity may be expressed as m–1 · kg · s–1 or
N · s · m–2 or Pa · s.’;

(f) in Chapter II, the following row shall be deleted from the table:

‘Land registration

acre

1 ac = 4 047 m2

ac’;

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(g) in Chapter II, the final sentence shall be 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.’.

Article 2

Transposition

1. Member States shall adopt and publish, no later than
31 December 2009, the laws, regulations and administrative
provisions necessary to comply with this Directive. They shall
forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of those
measures.

They shall apply those measures from 1 January 2010.

When they are adopted by Member States, those measures shall
contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by
such reference on the occasion of their official publication. The
methods of making such reference shall be laid down by
Member States.

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.

Article 3

Entry into force

This Directive shall enter
following that of its publication in the Official
European Union.

into force on the twentieth day
Journal of the

Article 4

Addressees

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at …

For the European Parliament

The President

…

For the Council

The President

…

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STATEMENT OF THE COUNCIL'S REASONS

I. INTRODUCTION

1. On 10 September 2007, the Commission adopted a 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.

2. On 26 September 2007, the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee which

gave its opinion on 12 December 2007.

3. The European Parliament voted its Opinion at first reading on 29 November 2007. The Opinion of

the Parliament contains no amendments to the Commission's proposal.

4. On 15 July 2008, the Council reached a political agreement with a view to adopting a Common

Position in accordance with Article 251 of the Treaty.

5. On 18 November 2008, the Council adopted its Common Position on the proposal as set out in

document 11915/08.

II. OBJECTIVES

6. The general objectives of the Commission proposal are to update Directive 80/181/EEC to:

— include consumer protection and environment in its scope,

— include as a legal unit a new unit in the International System of Units (SI) (1),

— allow the use of supplementary indications indefinitely,

— remove the requirement on the UK and Ireland to end the limited local exemptions for pint,

mile and troy ounce where they are still in use.

III. COMMON POSITION

General

7. The Council, which agrees with the objectives of the proposal, has nevertheless endeavoured to
improve some of the provisions and to add further provisions, notably in order to reflect in Com-
munity law some additional changes to the SI system and to provide for a Commission report on
developments in relation to Directive 80/181/EEC, in particular as concerns the smooth functioning
of the internal market and international trade.

Smooth functioning of the Internal Market and international acceptance of SI units

8. Council Directive 80/181/EEC has been reviewed every ten years as concerns local exemptions and
the use of supplementary indications. The Council agrees with the intention behind the proposal,
which is to increase legal certainty by removing the time limit for the exemptions from the general
principle that SI units should be used to the largest extent possible. The Council however deems it
important to closely follow the effects of the Directive on units of measurement on the smooth
functioning of the Internal Market and on external trade. To this aim,
it has inserted a new
Article 6b that provides for a Commission report on these effects 10 years after the entry into force
of this amending directive.

9.

In order to explain the provisions in Article 6b and to reflect the importance of the Commission's
monitoring of the smooth functioning of the internal market, the Council added a new Recital (4).
The Council also wished to draw the attention to need to further the acceptance in third country
markets of products labelled only in SI units, and to this aim introduced Recital (5).

(1) SI means ‘Système International d'unité de mesure’. It is based on the Paris Convention from 1875 and regularly updated
by the ‘Conférence générale des poids et mesures’ (CGPM). The most well-known units of the SI system are the metre, the
kilogram and the second.

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Developments within the SI system

10. The Council agrees with the objective of the Commission to introduce into Community law the
new SI unit ‘katal’. It however also wishes to reflect other developments within the SI system in
Community law. Therefore the definition of the ‘kelvin’ set out in Chapter I, point 1.1 of the Annex
to the directive is updated to reflect resolution 10 of the Twenty-third General Conference on
Weights and Measures (CGPM 2007). Furthermore, Points 1.2.1 and 1.2.3 of Chapter I in the
Annex are amended to reflect the 1995 CGPM decision to make the ‘radian’ and ‘steradian’
dimensionless.

11. The changes to the Annex are reflected in the new Recitals (7) and (9).

Other changes to the Commission proposal

12. The Council has made some small changes to Recitals (3) and (6) in order to reflect the thinking
behind the other changes of the proposal. It has also aligned Article 2 with the text agreed for
many similar acts and, as a consequence, added Recital (11). Finally, some purely technical changes
resulting from the changes described in Point 10 have been introduced in the Annex.

IV. CONCLUSION

13. The Common Position of the Council has the same general objectives as the Commission proposal
for an amending Directive. The intention behind the changes introduced is to contribute to the
general aims of Directive 80/181/EEC on units of measurement. The Commission indicated, at the
time that the Council reached political agreement, general acceptance of the Council changes to the
proposal.