EU units of measurement directive

The European Union (EU) directive on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to units of measurement is, in essence, the European law regarding measurement. It's relevant to American companies because it will ban the use of dual units beginning in 2010.

In 1979, the EU, then known as the European Economic Community, approved Council Directive 80/181/EEC, which specified the International System of Units as the legal units of measurement in Europe (with appropriate exceptions) and, more significantly, forbade the use of “supplementary indications”—dual units—after 31 December 1999.

As it became clear that the deadline was a bit optimistic, Directive 1999/103/EC in January 2000 postponed the ban on supplementary indications for a decade, until 31 December 2009.

So, beginning in 2010, it will generally be illegal to use dual units in the EU. And although this is usually described as a labeling law, it goes much farther than that. With a few exceptions, it applies to all measurements, not just package labels. It also covers measurements marked on items and measurements in product brochures, manuals, advertisements, etc. It would probably even require separate, metric-only Web sites for European visitors.

Because the U.S. generally requires dual units and forbids metric-only labels, and Europe will require metric-only labels and forbid dual units, companies on both sides of the Atlantic will face challenges beginning in 2010.

The directive

Here's a copy of the full text of the directive, as amended.

Back to USMA home.

Copyright © 2006, U.S. Metric Association (USMA), Inc. All rights reserved.
Web hosting courtesy of Colorado State University.
This page prepared by USMA member Gary Brown.
Website maintained by USMA Webmaster.
Updated: 2006-08-12