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In the European Union (EU), the Commission's Directorate General V (DG V) is responsible for occupational exposure limits. A committee similar to WATCH, the Scientific Committee for Occupational Exposure Limits to Chemical Agents (SCOEL) gives advice on setting OELs, which then go to a series of committees and representatives of member states.

As in the UK, two kinds of OEL are set by DG V, Indicative Limit Values (ILVs) and Binding Limit Values. Except for limit values for asbestos, lead and vinyl chloride monomer, these EU limits are advisory only, not even minimum standards.

However, the EU has an indirect influence on UK limit values in two ways. For a substance classified by the EU as a probable or certain human carcinogen, exposure must be as low as technically feasible. This means the UK could not set an OES for such a substance. And if an ILV is set by the EU which is different from the limit in EH40, or if there is no UK limit, the substance would be included in the WATCH programme.

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