Overview
Products tested and certified in the United States to American standards are likely to have to be retested and re-certified to EU requirements as a result of the EU regulations. Where products are not regulated by specific EU technical legislation, they are always subject to the EU General Product Safety Directive as well as possible additional national requirements.
European Union legislation and standards are under the responsibility of the European Standardization Organizations (CEN, CENELEC, ETSI) and can be used to support EU legislation and policies. The Commission pays special attention to standardization as standards can influence most areas of public concern such as the competitiveness of industry, the functioning of the Single Market, the protection of the environment, and of human health, not to forget the enhancement of innovation.
View information about what the European Commission engagement with Industry, and Single Market and Innovation.
Single Market
While harmonization of EU legislation can facilitate access to the EU Single Market, manufacturers should be aware that regulations (mandatory) and technical standards (voluntary) might also function as barriers to trade if U.S. standards are different from those of the European Union. For more information about the New Legislative Framework (NLF), go to EC-Europa-EU – NLF.
Standards
EU standards setting is a process based on consensus initiated by industry or mandated by the European Commission and carried out by independent standards bodies, acting at the national, European, or international level. There is strong encouragement for non-governmental organizations, such as environmental and consumer groups, to actively participate in European standardization.
Agricultural Standards
The establishment of harmonized EU rules and standards in the food sector has been ongoing for several decades, but it took until January 2002 for the publication of a general food law establishing the general principles of EU food law. This Regulation introduced mandatory traceability throughout the feed and food chain as of Jan 1, 2005. For specific information on agricultural standards, please refer to the Foreign Agricultural Service website.
There are also export guides to import regulations and standards available on the Foreign Agricultural Service’s website.
Many standards in the EU are adopted from international standards bodies such as the International Standards Organization (ISO). The drafting of specific EU standards is handled by three European standards organizations:
- CENELEC, European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization
- ETSI, European Telecommunications Standards Institute
- CEN, European Committee for Standardization, handling all other standards.
- For more information on standards, refer to the CS European Union website.
- Testing, Inspection and Certification
The main national testing organizations are:
General Chemical State Laboratory (Only in Greek language)
16 Αn. Tsoha Street
115 21 Athens, Greece
Tel: +30 210 6479337, 213-2117337 / Fax: +30 210 6469755
Contact: Mr. Nikolaos Vlachos
Email: a_athens.gcsl@aade.gr
Test, Research & Standards Center of PPC (KDEP)
9 Leontariou Street
Kantza, 153 51 Palini, Greece
Tel: +30 210 6601768 / Fax: +30 210 6659396
Contact: Mr. Anastasios Papadopoulos
E-mail: kdep@dei.com.gr
The Greek accreditation body, which is a member of the international laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC):
Hellenic Accreditation System S.A. (E.SY.D.)
7 Thiseos Street
176 76 Kallithea, Athens. Greece
Tel.: +30 210 7204600, +30 210 7204603 / Fax: +30 210 7204555
Contact: Ms. Maria Papatzikou
Email: esyd@esyd.gr
Independent test and certification laboratories, known as notified bodies, have been officially accredited by competent national authorities to test and certify to EU requirements. For a catalogue of accredited bodies and laboratories please refer to E.SY.D.
”European Accreditation” is an organization representing nationally recognized accreditation bodies. Membership is open to nationally recognized accreditation bodies in countries in the European geographical area that can demonstrate that they operate an accreditation system compatible to appropriate EN and ISO/IEC standards.
To sell products in the EU market of 27 member states as well as in Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland, U.S. exporters are required to apply CE marking whenever their product is covered by specific product legislation. CE marking product legislation offers manufacturers a number of choices and requires decisions to determine which safety/health concerns need to be addressed, which conformity assessment module is best suited to the manufacturing process, and whether or not to use EU-wide harmonized standards.
For more information, refer to CS European Union website.
Greece, being an EU member, complies with EU rules and regulations. Thus, costs related to certification requirements burden either U.S. exporters or importers, depending on type of product i.e., food, or other. Test certificates from U.S. laboratories are accepted, provided that subject laboratories are accredited by the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC). Currently, there are no U.S. testing laboratories operating in Greece.
Publication of Technical Regulations
The Official Journal is the official publication of the European Union. It is published daily on the internet and consists of two series covering adopted legislation as well as case law, studies by committees, and more EUR-Lex. It also lists the standards reference numbers (Harmonized Standards) linked to legislation EC-Europa-EU – Harmonized Standards. National technical Regulations are published on the Commission’s website EC-Europa-EU to allow other countries and interested parties to comment. Also see the NIST Notify service under “Standards Organizations” above.
Use ePing to review proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures.
The ePing SPS&TBT platform (https://epingalert.org/), or “ePing”, provides access to notifications made by WTO Members under the Agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), distributed by the WTO from January 16, 1995 to present. ePing is available to all stakeholders free of charge and does not require registration unless the user wishes to receive customized e-mail alerts. Use it to browse notifications on past as well as new draft and updated product regulations, food safety and animal and plant health standards and regulations, find information on trade concerns discussed in the WTO SPS and TBT Committees, locate information on SPS/TBT Enquiry Points and notification authorities, and to follow and review current and past notifications concerning regulatory actions on products, packaging, labeling, food safety and animal and plant health measures in markets of interest.
Notify U.S., operated and maintained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) since 2003 to distribute and provide access to notifications (and associated draft texts) made under the WTO TBT Agreement for US stakeholders, has reached its end of life. Per obligation under the TBT Agreement, each WTO Member operates a national TBT (and an SPS) Enquiry Point. National TBT Enquiry Points are authorized to accept comments and official communications from other national TBT Enquiry Points, which are NOT part of the WTO or the WTO Secretariat. All comment submissions from U.S. stakeholders, including businesses, trade associations, U.S domiciled standards development organizations and conformity assessment bodies, consumers, or U.S. government agencies on notifications to the WTO TBT Committee should be sent directly to the USA WTO TBT Inquiry Point. Refer to the comment guidance at https://tsapps.nist.gov/notifyus/data/guidance/guidance.cfm for further information.
Contact information
Standards Attaché - Belgium (European Union)
Location: Brussels, Belgium
Attaché: Jim Curtis
Contact: Jim.Curtis@trade.gov
National Institute of Standards & Technology
Dr. James Olthoff, Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology & NIST Director
Standards Coordination Office
100 Bureau Dr. Mail Stop 1070
Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899
Tel: (301) 975-5627
CEN – European Committee for Standardization
Avenue Marnix 17
B – 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32.2.550.08.11
Fax: +32.2.550.08.19
CENELEC – European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization
Avenue Marnix 17
B – 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32.2.519.68.71
Fax: +32.2.519.69.19
ETSI - European Telecommunications Standards Institute
Route des Lucioles 650
F – 06921 Sophia Antipolis Cedex, France
Tel: +33.4.92.94.42.00
Fax: +33.4.93.65.47.16
SBS – Small Business Standards
4, Rue Jacques de Lalaing
B-1040 Brussels
Tel: +32.2.285.07.27
Fax: +32-2/230.78.61
ANEC - European Association for the Co-ordination of Consumer Representation in Standardization
Avenue de Tervuren 32, Box 27
B – 1040 Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32.2.743.24.70
Fax: +32.2.706.54.30
EOTA - European Organization for Technical Assessment (for construction products)
Avenue des Arts 40 Kunstlaan
B – 1040 Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32.2.502.69.00
Fax: +32.2.502.38.14