Brussels, 18/09/2000 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has adopted a draft directive aimed at harmonising, on an EU scale, measuring instruments such as taximeters, petrol pump counters, breathalysers, water-, gas- and electricity meters and automatic weighing instruments used in production lines for pre-packed products. This project would allow not only to update the existing European legislation, which is now several years old, but also to simplify it by replacing 11 directives and many national laws with a single text.
"Legally controlled measuring instruments are traditionally required in most Member States in order to ensure trust between parties in transactions, to protect consumers and, more recently, to ensure objective measurement of offences, for instance alcohol abuse", explains the European Commission spokesman's service. Existing directives have not been updated to take account of technological progress, notably digital micro-electronics.
Resulting from consultation with national authorities, industry, users and consumers, "is one of the final pieces of legislation for the internal market in products", commented Industry Commissioner Erkki Liikanen. He went on to say: "By guaranteeing certainty of measurement and alignment with international standards, it opens a large market to manufacturers in and outside the European Union".