A little over 50 years ago, on July 26, 1971, the European Union created the « e » symbol in its directive 71/316/EEC. The objective of this directive was to prepare for the harmonization of the laws of the member states in the field of measurement instruments and metrological control. The « e » symbol is defined on page 11 of this directive.
A few years later, on January 20, 1976, directive 76/211/EEC defined the basis for pre-packaged product control. This directive specified that the « e » applied to the packaging of products symbolized the conformity of the product with the requirements of the directive (Annex I, 3.3).
The regulations on pre-packaged product control, based on these directives, were introduced in France by decree 78-166 of January 31, 1978.