Europe's harmonised standards on the Web A new European Union website has been developed to explain the complex issues surrounding the harmonisation of European standards for manufactured products. The New Approach Standardisation in the European Internal Market site, available at http://www.NewApproach.org, has bee... A new European Union website has been developed to explain the complex issues surrounding the harmonisation of European standards for manufactured products. The New Approach Standardisation in the European Internal Market site, available at http://www.NewApproach.org has been developed principally to provide small and medium sized enterprises with access to information on standards and their routes into the standardisation process. The site provides useful information on European standards bodies CEN, CENELEC and ETSI and on the relevant directives relating to the development of the European standardisation system. In particular it aims to: - Provide a common entry point for the European Standards Organisations (ESO); - Explain the underlying concepts of New Approach standardization; - List the directives under which the standards are developed; - Guide the user to the detail of the standards; - Offer a consistent interface across each of the three European Standard Organisations; - Increase awareness of the European standards making process; - Act as a marketing tool for European standards world-wide. The New Approach was defined in a Council Resolution of May 1985 and represents an innovative way of technical harmonisation. It introduces, among other things, a clear separation of responsibilities between the EC legislator and the European standards bodies CEN, CENELEC and ETSI in the legal framework allowing for the free movement of goods.
