Directive 1999/103/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 January 2000 amending Council Directive 80/181/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to units of measurement

DIRECTIVE 1999/103/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 24 January 2000
amending Council Directive 80/181/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to units of measurement
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 opinion from the commission(1),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee(2),
Acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 of the Treaty(3),
Whereas:
(1) At international level the 19th Conférence générale des poids et mesures (1991) extended the list of SI prefixes to be used for multiples and submultiples of SI units.
(2) The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) has revised the principles and rules regarding quantities and units as laid down in the international standard ISO 31; rules for the practical use of the SI system are given by the international standard ISO 1000.
(3) The text of Council Directive 80/181/EEC(4) should be brought into line with these international agreements and standards.
(4) Certain third countries do not accept on to their market products marked exclusively in the legal units established by Directive 80/181/EEC; companies exporting their products to these countries will be disadvantaged if supplementary indications are disallowed after 31 December 1999; supplementary indications in non-legal units should therefore be authorised for a further period.
(5) The application of Directive 80/181/EEC should be re-examined and the appropriate measures taken with a view to the use of a global system; the procedure of Article 18 of Council Directive 71/316/EEC(5), should apply where appropriate,