History of the Eurocodes
In 1975 the Commission of the European Community decided on an action programme to eliminate technical barriers to trade in the construction sector, based on Article 95 of the Treaty of Rome. Within this programme the Commission established a set of harmonized technical rules for the structural design of construction works, culminating in the publication of the first generation of Eurocodes in the mid-80s. In 1989 the preparation and publication of the Eurocodes was mandated to CEN, the European Committee for Standardization. The agreement between CEN and the Commission specified that the Eurocodes are to serve as the basis of reference documents applicable throughout Europe, and are to be used:
- to design structural construction works in compliance with the essential requirements on mechanical resistance and stability, and those regarding safety in case of fire, as specified in the Construction Products Directive (Directive 89/106/EEC);
- as the basis for construction and civil engineering contracts;
- as a common basis for harmonized product standards and European Technical Approvals for construction products.
Although the Eurocodes are not themselves product standards, they do apply to construction works as a whole and thus relate directly to the provisions of the "interpretative documents" referred to in Article 12 of the Construction Products Directive.
At first the Eurocodes were published as pre-standards (ENVs) in which "boxed values" allowed Member States the freedom to choose alternative values, taking national differences regarding construction methods, levels of protection, and geographic and climatic conditions into consideration. National Application Documents (NADs), which gave details on how to apply the Eurocodes in the relevant country, were usually published together with the national ENVs.
In 1997 a second phase began in which the pre-standards were gradually converted to full European standards (ENs), incorporating the necessary technical modifications and amendments identified in the comments to the pre-standards.
Detailed information on the "Application and use of Eurocodes" is given in Guidance Paper L issued by the European Commission, the compete text of which is available on the Commission's web site. Links »
The European Standards are adopted as national standards and published in Germany as DIN ENs. The National Application Documents mentioned above are now published as National Annexes (NAs), which contain the "Nationally Determined Parameters" (formerly the "boxed values") which apply in the country of issue, although the recommendations in the Eurocode itself are to be followed wherever possible.
The publication of all 58 Eurocodes in English is now complete and the the vast majority of German National Annexes, where available, have also been translated into English.