The field of nanotechnologies has been the subject of a process of wide-ranging regulation,
which covers two different trends. From the 2000s the European Commission and
Parliament agreed on a type of adaptive, experimental and flexible approach, which had its
apex with the Commission code of conduct on responsible nano-research developed
through a set of consultations. In 2009 this initial agreement subsequently broke down and
the EU started to develop a set of regulatory initiatives of a sectoral nature in several fields
(cosmetics, food, biocides). Thus, the current arrangement of governance in the field of
nanotechnologies appears to be a hybrid, which mixes forms belonging to the new
governance method (consultations, self-regulation, agency, comitology committees,
networking), working like a lung in the framework of EU policy, with more traditional tools
belonging to the classic governance method (regulations, directives). This model of
governance based on a case-by-case approach runs the risk of lacking coherence since it is
exposed to sudden changes of direction when risks emerge and it has a weak anticipatory
dimension due to both its excessive dependency on data collection and its insufficient use of
upstream criteria, such as human rights, which should be used earlier, to allow anticipated
intervention with a less intense use of hard law solutions
