DIN in Europe
Regulatory context
European Standards help shape the European internal market. They bring detail to European technical legislation, and in some cases, even help implement European policies. To achieve the latter, the European Commission and the secretariat of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) issue requests, called "mandates", to the European Standardization Organizations (ESOs) to develop and adopt European Standards in support of European policies and legislation.
According to this principle, called the "New Approach", certain EU Directives lay down essential requirements which are to be given technical detail in these mandated European Standards. Such standards are also called "harmonized standards". Users of a "harmonized" standard can presume that they meet the essential requirements of the respective directive ("presumption of conformity").
European standardization is governed by the overlying rules laid down in EU Regulation 1025/2012, which took effect in 2013. According to the Regulation a focus is to be placed on transparency and the participation of all stakeholders, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and representatives of consumer interests, environmental protection and workers' interests.
