Talk:CE marking
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meaning of the CE acronym (Conformité Européenne?)
A Wikipedian wrote that no official definition for the CE acronym could be found. See commented text embedded in the article's lead.
If so, I would expect the cause to be the internal politics of the EU, which might cause the European Commision (the governing body, headquartered in a French-speaking country) to try to avoid the appearance of French linguistic imperialism. There might be evidence of this in discussion forums or in unofficial documents of the commission.
Regardless, following is a workspace to collect citations, regardless of authoritativeness, that confirm or deny the meaning of the CE acronym.
— Black Walnut talk 15:13, 28 October 2025 (UTC)
- We would have to be careful to avoid an 'everybody knows' backronym - that's how the "China Export" myth started and gained traction. If it is not elaborated in europa.eu, then none of these has any status.
- People see the CE and want to know it abbreviates, they can't accept that maybe it doesn't abbreviate anything. Or maybe it abbreviates Communautés Européennes, which was also conjectured. 𝕁𝕄𝔽 (talk) 12:24, 29 October 2025 (UTC)
- Doing a Google site search for “Conformité Européenne site:europa.eu” (i.e. only pages of the European Union’s own website) finds no shortage of pages explicitly defining CE as “Conformité Européenne”. I can’t be the first person to run that query, so why is there doubt?? — tooki (talk) 16:11, 16 January 2026 (UTC)
- I can find many pages that say "CE (Conformité Européenne)" (especially on the Medicines Agency pages) but none with legal status. Examples of use don't qualify as valid citations, no matter how many that we find, because that would be WP:OR. Eur-lex should be the most authoritative source and I did find 52014SC0023 | COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Part 1: Evaluation of the Internal Market Legislation for Industrial Products /* SWD/2014/023 final */ which has it in the opening glossary.
- So I wonder how close to the wind would we be sailing were we to say that it appears to be a de facto definition despite having no de jure status? 𝕁𝕄𝔽 (talk) 20:16, 16 January 2026 (UTC)
- Doing a Google site search for “Conformité Européenne site:europa.eu” (i.e. only pages of the European Union’s own website) finds no shortage of pages explicitly defining CE as “Conformité Européenne”. I can’t be the first person to run that query, so why is there doubt?? — tooki (talk) 16:11, 16 January 2026 (UTC)
Pages that define CE as "Conformité Européenne"
- http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/pri/en/oj/dat/2000/ce203/ce20320000718en00260028.pdf (via http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/JOHtml.do?uri=OJ:C:2000:203E:SOM:EN:HTML ) seems to imply that "Conformité Européenne" is not incorrect. - Brewthatistrue 1 July 2005 22:51 (UTC)
- Site is no longer registered:
$ host europa.eu.int
Host europa.eu.int not found: 3(NXDOMAIN)
— Black Walnut talk 16:16, 28 October 2025 (UTC)- Updated URL: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv%3AOJ.CE.2000.203.01.0026.02.ENG&toc=OJ%3AC%3A2000%3A203E%3ATOC (HTML)
- https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:91999E001698 (PDF) — tooki (talk) 16:31, 16 January 2026 (UTC)
- Not Found.
The requested URL /ce_marking/ce_list.html was not found on this server.
Unknown editor. Possibly User:Brewthatistrue
- Archive.org has your not found (at https://web.archive.org/web/20051105034737/http://www.conformance.co.uk/ce_marking/ce_list.html ). It doesn't decode CE.
𝕁𝕄𝔽 (talk) 16:46, 28 October 2025 (UTC)
- https://www.deleguescommerciaux.gc.ca/fr/infos-marche-industrie/recherche-pays-region/region/canada-europe-exportation/six-etapes-marquage-ce-biens-vendus-marche-europeen.html
(government site - Canada)
Text: Qu'est-ce que le marquage CE?
Le marquage CE, que l'on voit ci-dessus, est un symbole qu'un fabricant (voir la définition ci-dessous) appose sur un produit pour qu'il puisse être vendu en Europe. Ce marquage est obligatoire dans le cas des produits régis par l'une des 24 directives européennes. Le marquage CE indique que le fabricant assume la responsabilité de respecter toutes les exigences européennes en matière de santé, de sécurité, de rendement et de protection de l'environnement qui s'appliquent à son produit. « CE » signifie « conformité européenne ».
— Black Walnut talk 16:16, 28 October 2025 (UTC)
- https://www.tradecommissioner.gc.ca/en/market-industry-info/search-country-region/region/canada-europe-export/six-steps-ce-marketing-goods-european-union.html
(government site - Canada)
Text: What is the CE mark?
The CE mark is a symbol that a manufacturer (see definition below) affixes to a product so that it can be sold in Europe. The mark is mandatory for products which fall under one of 24 European directives. The CE mark means that the manufacturer takes responsibility for the compliance of a product with all applicable European health, safety, performance and environmental requirements. CE stands for "Conformité Européenne", the French for European conformity.
— Black Walnut talk 16:16, 28 October 2025 (UTC)
- https://www.trade.gov/ce-marking
(government site - USA)
Text: The CE marking (an acronym for the French “Conformite Europeenne”) certifies that a product has met EU health, safety, and environmental requirements, which ensure consumer safety. Manufacturers in the European Union (EU) and abroad must meet CE marking requirements where applicable in order to market their products in Europe.
— Black Walnut talk 16:19, 28 October 2025 (UTC)
- https://www.opsninja.com/blog/understanding-conformite-europeenne-a-complete-tutorial-on-ce-marking
(commercial site, probably USA)
Site purpose: Your Brand’s New Inspections & Testing Provider
Grow your sales with the highest reviews & lowest return rates in your product category.
Text: What is Conformité Européenne (CE) Marking?
Conformité Européenne, or CE label, is an essential designation indicating that an item meets the stringent safety, health, and environmental requirements established by the European Union (EU).
- https://blog.kryton.com/2012/11/european-ce-conformite-europeenne-certification/
(commercial site - Canada)
Site purpose: Kryton’s suite of innovative Smart Concrete products offers the most effective crystalline waterproofing solutions in the world.
Text: The European CE (Conformité Européenne) mark is an indicator of a product’s compliance with the EU legislation. It is a mandatory conformance mark on any product that is placed on the market in the European Economic Area (EEA) and often requires certification from the ISO 9000 standards. This marking allows free movement of the products within the European market and indicates that the product conforms to the various applicable European Conformity directives.
- https://asq.org/quality-resources/ce-marking
(commercial site - USA)
Site purpose: American Society for Quality.
With members and customers in over 130 countries, ASQ brings together the people, ideas and tools that make our world work better.
Every day around the globe, quality professionals help to make the world a better place. Let ASQ membership make a professional difference for you. Develop Your Skills. Expand Your Network. Advance Your Career.
Text: What is CE Marking?
The Conformité Européene (CE) Mark is defined as the European Union’s (EU) mandatory conformity marking for regulating the goods sold within the European Economic Area (EEA) since 1985. The CE marking represents a manufacturer’s declaration that products comply with the EU’s New Approach Directives. These directives not only apply to products within the EU but also for products that are manufactured in or designed to be sold in the EEA. This makes the CE marking recognizable worldwide even to those unfamiliar with the EEA.
- https://www.seton.be/fr/etiquette-conformite-conformite-europeenne-ce.html
(commercial site - Belgium)
Site purpose: Fondé en 1956, Seton est reconnu par les entreprises pour son expertise en matériel de sécurité, de signalisation et d'identification. Nos panneaux et pictogrammes sont conçus pour communiquer efficacement les informations de sécurité dans votre environnement de travail.
Text: Étiquette de Conformité Européenne (CE)
Confère la libre circulation sur l'ensemble du territoire de l'Union Européenne.
* Le marquage CE est obligatoire pour tous les produits soumis à une réglementation Européenne.
* Les étiquettes sont disponibles en plusieurs matériaux : Aluminium, Vinyle et Polyoléfine.
* Disponible en version ronde ou rectangulaire.
Pages that conspicuously avoid defining the term
- https://www.entreprises.gouv.fr/espace-entreprises/s-informer-sur-la-reglementation/le-marquage-ce
(government site - France)
— Black Walnut talk 16:36, 28 October 2025 (UTC)
Pages that give a different definition
(none so far)