A directive is a regulation of the European Union addressed to the membership countries. It puts on membership countries a duty of leting out in direct time their own national regulations, puting into practice the regulations of the directive.

A goal of the directives in the new and global treatment is to assure a free flow of articles in membership countries of the European Union by applying self and harmonized needs and procedures of the accordance mark.

Different from the previous approach, when the European Union used to strictly control each section of the market, an idea of the 'new approach' was introduced in 1985 and its essence states that:

* a matter of the harmonization are only the laws according security, health and environment protection;

* the directives include only main needs, while the technical details are included in suitable and harmonized European norms (EN), observance of which is a matter of free will;

* an article which fulfills the expectations of the directives and has a CE mark, can be introduced into turnover in every membership country of the European Union.

An idea of the 'new approach' has been completed in 1989 with so-called global approach to the inquiries and certifications, which defines the basis for the approach of the products' accordance to the norms and regulations. Norms and regulations defined in the directives of the global approach are obligatory.