Describes the country's standards landscape, identifies the national standards and accreditation bodies, and lists the main national testing organization(s) and conformity assessment bodies.Last Published:6/17/2019
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’s different approach to the protection of the health and safety of consumers and the environment. Where products are not regulated by specific EU technical legislation, they are always subject to the EU’s General Product Safety Directive as well as to 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 because 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. For more information about what the European Commission does with regards to Industry, Single Market and Innovation, please follow the below links:
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 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’s website.
Standards Organizations NIST Notify U.S. Service Member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are required under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement) to report to the WTO all proposed technical regulations that could affect trade with other Member countries. Notify U.S. is a free, web-based e-mail subscription service that offers an opportunity to review and comment on proposed foreign technical regulations that can affect your access to international markets. Register online at Internet URL: NIST- NotifyUS
EU 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.
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.
The Greek accreditation body, which is member of the international laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), is:
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 28 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.
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 US 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 (Harmonised Standards) linked to legislation EC-Europa-EU – Harmonised 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.
National Institute of Standards & Technology Dr. Walter G. Copan, 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 inStandardization 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
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