European Commission - Press release

New approach to enable global leadership of EU standards promoting
values and a resilient, green and digital Single MarketBrussels, 2 February 2022
Today, the Commission is presenting a new Standardisation Strategy outlining our approach tostandards within the Single Market as well as globally. The Strategy is accompanied by a proposal for
an amendment to the Regulation on standardisation, a report on its implementation, and the 2022
annual Union work programme for European standardisation. This new Strategy aims to strengthen
the EU's global competitiveness, to enable a resilient, green and digital economy and to enshrine
democratic values in technology applications.
Standards are the silent foundation of the EU Single Market and global competitiveness. They help
manufacturers ensure the interoperability of products and services, reduce costs, improve safety andfoster innovation. Standards are an invisible but fundamental part of our daily life: from Wi-Fi
frequencies, to connected toys or ski bindings, just to mention a few. Standards give confidence thata product or a service is fit for purpose, is safe and will not harm people or the environment.
Compliance with harmonised standards guarantees that products are in line with EU law.
The fast pace of innovation, our green and digital ambitions and the implications of technologicalstandards for our EU democratic values require an increasingly strategic approach to standardisation.
The EU's ambitions towards a climate neutral, resilient and circular economy cannot be delivered
without European standards. Having a strong global footprint in standardisation activities andleading the work in key international fora and institutions will be essential for the EU to remain aglobal standard-setter. By setting global standards, the EU exports its values while providing EU
companies with an important first-mover advantage.
Executive Vice-President for a Europe Fit for the Digital Age, Margrethe Vestager, said: “Ensuringthat data is protected in artificial intelligence or ensuring that mobile devices are secure fromhacking, rely on standards and must be in line with EU democratic values. In the same way, we needstandards for the roll-out of important investment projects, like hydrogen or batteries, and tovalorise innovation investment by providing EU companies with an important first-mover advantage.”
Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, said: “Technical standards are of strategic
importance. Europe's technological sovereignty, ability to reduce dependencies and protection of EU
values will rely on our ability to be a global standard-setter. With today's Strategy, we are crystalclear on our standardisation priorities and create the conditions for European standards to become
global benchmarks. We take action to preserve the integrity of the European standardisation process,putting European SMEs and the European interest at the centre”.
The Strategy presented today proposes five key sets of actions:
1. Anticipate, prioritise and address standardisation needs in strategic areas: we needstandards faster and in tune with the European innovation and policy agenda. 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. As of this year, standardisation priorities will be clearly
identified in the 2022 annual Union work programme for European standardisation. A High-level
Forum will be set up to inform future standardisation priorities. The Commission will establish
the function of a Chief Standardisation Officer to ensure high-level guidance across theCommission on standardisation activities, which will be supported by an EU excellence hub on
standards composed of Commission services.
2. Improve the governance and integrity of the European standardisation system:
European standards, which support EU policy and legislation, must be decided by Europeanplayers. The Commission is proposing an amendment to the Regulation on standardisation toimprove 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 thedecision-making processes during the development of standards for key areas, like cybersecurity
or hydrogen standards. The Commission will further pay close attention to the inclusiveness ofthe system, the role of SMEs and civil society. It calls on the European standardisation
organisations to modernise their governance structures and will launch a peer review process
among Member States and national standardisation bodies to achieve better inclusiveness forcivil society, users and SMEs-friendly conditions for standardisation. At the same time, theCommission will launch the evaluation of the Regulation on standardisation.
3. Enhance European leadership in global standards: the Commission will work through theHigh-Level Forum to set up a new mechanism with EU Member States and nationalstandardisation 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 EU will fund standardisation projects in African
and the Neighbourhood countries.
4. Support innovation: the Commission is proposing to better tap into the potential of EU-funded
research to valorise innovation projects through standardisation activities and anticipate earlystandardisation needs. A ‘standardisation booster' to support researchers under Horizon 2020and Horizon Europe to test the relevance of their results for standardisation, will be launched.
The development of a Code of Practice for researchers on standardisation will be initiated tostrengthen the link between standardisation and research/innovation through the European
Research Area (ERA), by mid-2022.
5. Enable the next generation of standardisation experts: standards rely on the best experts
and Europe is facing a generation shift. The Commission will promote more academic awarenesson standards, for instance through the future organisation of EU University Days and training ofresearchers.

BackgroundToday, standards have become a matter of global importance. Other regions are reinforcing theirglobal footprint by being more strategic and assertive. The European standardisation system needs
to evolve to respond to these challenges. The Commission's plans for a new Standardisation Strategyand legislative adjustment to the standardisation Regulation were announced in the Commission's‘Updating the 2020 New Industrial Strategy: Building a stronger Single Market for Europe's
recovery'.
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. Onceaccepted, these standards become part of EU law and provide manufacturers using them across theSingle Market with a presumption of conformity with the requirements of EU legislation, helping toreduce costs for small businesses. The process is based on a public-private-partnership between theCommission and the standardisation community, where the division of roles and responsibilities isguided by the 2012 standardisation Regulation.

For More Information
Questions and Answers on the EU Strategy on Standardisation
Factsheet on the EU Strategy on Standardisation
An EU Strategy on Standardisation: Setting global standards in support of a resilient, green anddigital EU Single Market
Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending
Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 as regards the decisions of European standardisation organisations
concerning European standards and European standardisation deliverables
Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation ofthe Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 from 2015 to 2020
The 2022 annual Union work programme for European standardisation
Follow @EU_GROW on Twitter
IP/22/661

Press contacts:
Sonya GOSPODINOVA (+32 2 296 69 53)
Federica MICCOLI (+32 2 295 83 00)
General public inquiries: Europe Direct by phone 00 800 67 89 10 11 or by email

Related media
Visit of Thierry Breton, European Commissioner, to Spain