OJEU

OJEU — Official Journal of the European Union

The Official Journal of the European Union (abbreviated OJEU, or in other EU languages: Journal Officiel de l’Union Européenne, Amtsblatt der Europäischen Union) is the daily official gazette of the European Union. It is the sole authoritative source where EU legal acts — regulations, directives, decisions — and official notices acquire legal force, and the only place where references to harmonised standards officially establish their status as conferring presumption of conformity with EU directives.

For hardware engineers, product compliance managers, and anyone working with CE marking and EU product legislation, understanding the OJEU is not optional — it is a fundamental reference in the CE marking workflow.

Key Facts

Structure of the OJEU

The OJEU comprises two main series, each with distinct content; since 1 October 2023 it is no longer a collection of acts with a table of contents — each act is published individually as an authentic Official Journal and cited by its act number:

L Series (Législation — Legislation)

The L Series contains legally binding acts of the EU:

• Regulations (directly binding in all member states)
• Directives (binding on member states as to the result; require national transposition)
• Decisions (binding on their addressees)
• Corrigenda (corrections to previously published acts)

All EU product legislation that creates CE marking obligations is published in the L Series. Examples:

• Radio Equipment Directive (RED): OJ L 153, 22.5.2014
• Low Voltage Directive (LVD): OJ L 96, 29.3.2014
• Cyber Resilience Act (CRA): OJ L, 2024/2847, 20.11.2024
• General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR): OJ L 135, 23.5.2023

C Series (Communications and Information)

The C Series contains non-binding acts and communications, including:

• References to harmonised standards published before December 2018 (Commission communications) — since 1 December 2018 references are published and withdrawn by Commission implementing decisions in the L series
• Commission notices
• Opinions and recommendations
• Court of Justice decisions (when published)

Critical for CE marking: A harmonised standard (EN 300 328, EN 18031-1, EN 62368-1, etc.) only provides presumption of conformity with a directive when its reference is published in the Official Journal — since 1 December 2018 by a Commission implementing decision in the L series, before that by a Commission communication in the C series. Publication of the reference is what officially activates the standard’s legal status under EU directives.

The Role of OJEU in Harmonised Standards

The pathway from a draft standard to a legally recognised harmonised standard involves the OJEU:

1. EU Commission issues a standardisation request to ETSI/CEN/CENELEC
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2. Standards body develops and publishes the standard (ETSI EN, EN, etc.)
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3. Commission evaluates the standard against directive essential requirements
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4. Commission publishes the reference in the OJ L series by implementing decision
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5. Standard now has LEGAL PRESUMPTION OF CONFORMITY status

Without OJEU publication, a standard — even if technically excellent — does not provide legal presumption of conformity. A manufacturer applying a non-referenced standard must still demonstrate conformity against the essential requirements directly.

How to Check OJEU for Harmonised Standards

The Commission publishes the references of harmonised standards per directive by implementing decisions in the OJ L series (older lists: Commission communications in the C series). They can be found on:

1. EUR-Lex (eur-lex.europa.eu): Open the Commission implementing decision on harmonised standards for the directive concerned and its latest consolidated version.
2. European Commission standardisation pages: Direct links to the latest OJEU references lists for each directive.

Each entry in the harmonised standards list includes:

• Standard reference number (e.g., EN 300 328)
• Standard title
• Publication reference (implementing decision number and OJ L date; for pre-2018 entries the OJ C issue)
• Date from which the standard was withdrawn (superseded standards)

Transition periods: When a standard is revised (e.g., EN 300 328 V2.1.1 → V2.2.2, Implementing Decision (EU) 2020/167), the implementing decision sets a withdrawal date for the old reference (here 6 August 2021), after which only the new version gives presumption of conformity. During the transition period, both old and new versions give presumption of conformity.

OJEU and the Withdrawal of EN 60950-1

A concrete example of OJEU’s practical importance: EN 60950-1 (IT equipment safety) was superseded as a harmonised LVD standard by EN 62368-1:2014, as listed in the Commission communication in OJ C 326 of 14 September 2018, with its presumption of conformity ending on 20 December 2020. After that date, EN 60950-1 no longer gave presumption of conformity for newly placed products — the OJ-cited standard was EN 62368-1. Companies unaware of this OJEU notice faced CE marking compliance gaps.

OJ L Series and Delegated Acts

When the European Commission issues a Delegated Regulation (e.g., Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30 — the RED Delegated Act activating cybersecurity requirements), it is published in the OJ L Series. This is where the manufacturer’s obligation arises.

The sequence for the RED Delegated Act:

1. OJ L — Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30 published → legal obligation created
2. OJ L — Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/138 (OJ L, 30.1.2025) publishes the references of EN 18031-1, -2, -3 with restrictions → harmonised standard route available within those restrictions
3. Manufacturer applies EN 18031-x within the published restrictions → gains presumption of conformity → self-declares

Related Terms

• ETSI — The standards body that develops EN 300 328, EN 301 893 and many other radio standards referenced in the OJEU (EN 18031 was developed by CEN-CENELEC JTC 13).
• CE Marking — The market access mark for which harmonised standards (referenced in OJEU) provide the compliance framework.
• Conformity Assessment — OJEU harmonised standard references determine which assessment module is available.
• RED — One of the key directives whose harmonised standards list is published and maintained via OJEU.
• EN 18031 — Cybersecurity standard whose reference in OJEU creates its legal status under the RED Delegated Act.

Monitoring OJEU for standard withdrawals and new references is a continuous compliance obligation — not a one-time check. A product CE-marked to a standard that is subsequently withdrawn from the OJEU list may need to be re-tested for continued market validity. Inovasense tracks OJEU harmonised standard publications as part of ongoing compliance support for our clients. See our EU compliance services.

Official References

• EUR-Lex — Official Journal of the European Union — EUR-Lex (access all Official Journal issues)