EU: New EU standardisation strategy

 

The European Commission published recently a new standardisation strategy. It aims to strengthen the EU’s global competitiveness, enable the shift towards a green and a digital economy and embed democratic values in technology applications.

Technical standards for products are one of the foundations of the EU single market and its global competitiveness. They help manufacturers ensure interoperability of products and services, reduce costs, improve safety and foster innovation. Consumers are often oblivious of their existence but they play an important role in many areas of our daily lives – whether it’s Wi-Fi frequencies, connected toys or light bulbs, to name just a few examples.

Moreover, compliance with the so called harmonised standards guarantees that the products concerned are in conformity with EU law and meet the essential requirements of EU product regulations.  A harmonised standard is a European standard developed by a recognised European Standards Organisation (CEN, CENELEC or ETSI) following a request from the European Commission. Once accepted, these standards become part of EU law and provide manufacturers using them across the Single Market with a presumption of conformity with the requirements of EU legislation, helping to reduce costs for small businesses. The process is based on a public-private-partnership between the Commission and the standardisation community, where the division of roles and responsibilities is guided by the 2012 standardisation Regulation.  Currently, there are about 3600 references to harmonised standards are published in the Official Journal of the EU.

Basically, the use of European standards is voluntary. Manufacturers and other economic operators are free to choose another technical solution to demonstrate compliance with the mandatory legal requirements. However, compliance with a harmonised standard however makes it easier for businesses to show their products comply with EU legislation and facilitates their access to the EU Single Market.

The new standardisation strategy is accompanied by a proposal to amend the Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 on standardisation, a report on its implementation and the Union’s 2022 annual work programme for European standardisation.

Specifically, the Commission proposes several key sets of actions, including:

Anticipate, prioritise and address standardisation needs in strategic areas: The Commission has identified standardisation urgencies as regards COVID-19 vaccine and medicine production, critical raw materials recycling, the clean hydrogen value chain, low-carbon cement, chips certification and data standards.

Improve the governance and integrity of the European standardisation system: European standards, which support EU policy and legislation, must be decided by European players. The Commission is proposing an amendment to the Regulation on standardisation to improve the governance in the European standardisation system. While the European system will remain open, transparent, inclusive and impartial, the proposal prescribes that mandates at the request of the Commission to the European standardisation organisations must be handled by national delegates – the national standardisation bodies – from the EU and EEA Member States. This will avoid any undue influence of actors from outside the EU and EEA in the decision-making processes during the development of standards for key areas, like cybersecurity or hydrogen standards.

Enhance European leadership in global standards: the Commission will work through the High-Level Forum to set up a new mechanism with EU Member States and national standardisation bodies to share information, coordinate and strengthen the European approach to international standardisation. The Commission will also pursue more coordination between EU Member States and like-minded partners.

The proposals of the EU Commission are going in the right direction.  It is particularly important to fend off the foreign influences in the area of standardization.  It is a battle which we normally do not see but which crucial for the position of the EU industry in the world.  As the EU Commission writes: “Traditionally, the EU has been a strong leader in international standardisation activities but needs to take account of a changed geopolitical situation, as other countries start to approach international standardisation more strategically and gain influence in international standardisation committees.”

To find out more, refer to the official EU Commission website HERE.