At a meeting in Bern in June 1990 a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed which formally established WELMEC as the European cooperation in legal metrology

Fifteen countries of the European Union (EU) and 3 countries in the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) have signed the WELMEC Memorandum of Understanding which sets out objectives and tasks for WELMEC and identifies rights and obligations arising from membership. The MoU is of an exclusively recommendatory nature, however, and does not in anyway bind its signatories. Since September 1995 WELMEC also accepts Associate Members from those countries which had signed Europe Agreements with the EU.

Objectives
The principle aim of WELMEC is to establish a harmonized and consistent approach to legal metrology. The principal objectives are:

• (a) to develop mutual confidence between legal metrology services in Europe
• (b) to achieve harmonization of legal metrology activities taking into account the relevant guidelines
• (c) to identify any special features of legal metrology which need to be reflected in the European metrology, certification and testing framework
• (d) to organize the exchange of information
  (e) to promote the removal of barriers to trade in the field of measuring instruments
• (f) to promote consistency of interpretation and application of normative documents and propose actions to facilitate implementation
• (g) to identify specific technical problems which might form the subject of collaborative projects
• (h) to maintain working links with other relevant bodies with an interest in legal metrology
• (i) to debate trends and establish criteria for the scope of legal metrology and maintain channels for a continuous flow of knowledge

Organization
The WELMEC Committee which meets regularly at approximately eight-month intervals consists of delegates from those national bodies which have either signed the Memorandum of Understanding or have accepted associate membership plus observers from a number of other interested bodies. A small Chairman’s Group provides advice to the Chairman on strategic matters, while WELMEC Working Groups meet regularly to discuss a range of important subjects and make recommendations to the WELMEC Committee. The results mostly are laid down in WELMEC Guides.

Other continents 
Also in other continents similar organizations exist. In the American continent also legal metrology is organized within the Systema Interamericano de Metrologia SIM. The Asia-Pacific Legal metrology Forum operates in the Asia-pacific region and SADCMEL in the Southern African region.