Installing an elevator

In the past, European or national technical standards were mandatory: by complying with their technical prescriptions, products were supposed to be safe. But these standards, although regularly updated, only imperfectly covered the diversity of possible risks to the user, and the mandatory nature of the standards meant that technical solutions were frozen in place.

In addition, they sometimes acted as a barrier to trade, through national requirements concerning fire safety and accessibility in particular.

With the construction of Europe, the idea of a new approach to regulation began to emerge.

In 1985, after several years' work, the European Commission defined a "global approach to product conformity attestation": European directives would lay down only the essential requirements, with reference to harmonized standards...