ABSTRACT
The drive toward the creation of a single European economic entity began in 1957 with the signing of the Treaty of Rome. In 1986, the Single European Act established the goal of achieving a single market by 1992 to include 12 member states and approximately 350 million people. European regional standards setting bodies are responsible for establishing the voluntary standards, which elaborate on the essential requirements. The production and adoption of software standards is very much the responsibility of international and national standards organizations and, in the case of the European context, bodies set up to represent a number of national organizations. In the period up to 1992, and subsequently, the European Parliament has enacted a series of measures intended to put the single market into practice. The European Community 1992 process splits the burden of stringent regulation between the United States and the European Commission.
