Eurocodes

Eurocodes are a series of 10 European Technical Standards that provide a common approach to the structural design of buildings and other civil engineering works. Eurocodes help make European companies more competitive, and increase safety in the construction industry.

The Eurocodes cover:

basis of structural design (EN 1990);
actions on structures (EN 1991);
the design of concrete (EN 1992), steel (EN 1993), composite steel and concrete (EN 1994), timber (EN 1995), masonry (EN 1996), and aluminium structures (EN 1999);
geotechnical design (EN 1997);
the design, assessment, and retrofitting of structures for earthquake resistance (EN 1998).

The Eurocodes are replacing national standards that provide common technical rules for the design of buildings and other civil engineering works and construction products.

What the Commission does

Standardisation - the European Commission sent a standardisation request mandating standardisation work (technical mandate M/515) to the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN). It also financially supports specific standardisation work.
Allowing Eurocodes in public tenders - according to the Public Procurement Directives (2004/17/EC and 2004/18/EC), contracting authorities in the EU must allow the use of Eurocodes in the structural design aspects of tenders.
Further harmonisation – the Joint Research Centre is assessing remaining national parameters for potential harmonisation. The centre also monitors and supports the standardisation work of CEN and provides input in technical discussions in the EU and beyond.

Special website on Eurocodes

A dedicated website on Eurocodes is maintained by the Joint Research Centre where users can find more comprehensive technical information.