Valve manufacturers and end-users throughout Europe are facing an era of
significant technological development and a constant demand to be aware of and
conform to changing standards and new legislation affecting the industry. The
harmonization of standards throughout the European Union has seen the
introduction of new directives that are being incorporated into the legislation
of all member countries over the first few years of the 21st century. In
addition, a substantial programme of new EU valve and materials standards is
being developed by multi-national working groups consisting of technical
representatives from both manufacturer and user groups. New standards will apply
to both valve design, test and certification