4. European standards organizations

European standardization structures developed in the 1960s according to a pattern that almost exactly mirrors the global context. With the exception of the electrotechnical sector, they remained relatively inactive until the Commission of the European Communities (CEC) decided to use their services to implement its New Approach policy: reference to harmonized standards gives presumption of conformity to the essential requirements of New Approach Directives.

A second, highly restrictive impetus came from the Single European Act on the Single Market, with its corollary of the 1 ^er January 1993 deadline: the circulation of products throughout Europe requires standards common to all European countries in order to limit technical barriers to trade.

In this new context, the three organizations already...