Hello Frank,
We've been seeing a degree of international standardization here for about 30 years. It started in Britain in 1970 with the adoption of a common European color code for certain wiring and a change to standardized metric cable sizes.
When the 1981 edition of our IEE Wiring Regulations came out, the format was very different to that used previously, as it was completely re-written to an agreed common European layout (or so I've been informed). The new layout is much harder to follow than the old one was!
The trend toward European standardization has progressed rapidly in recent years. We're seeing our old circuit breaker rating of 5, 15 and 30A disappearing in favor of the common European ratings of 6, 16 and 32A, for example, and main switches aren't just marked "On" and "Off" anymore but also carry the European "1" and "0" symbols.
I've also heard that the IEC's aim is the whole world using the same common standard, but I think they'll have a tough time reconciling European and North American wiring practices, which are quite different in many respects.
