Decision No 1673/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 2006 on the financing of European standardisation
Date: 2006-10-24
Institutions: Council of the European Union, European Parliament
Subjects: EU financing, European standard, cooperation policy, standardisation, technical regulations

15.11.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 315/9

DECISION No 1673/2006/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

of 24 October 2006

on the financing of European standardisation

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Commu-
nity, in particular Articles 95 and 157(3) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and
Social Committee (1),

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251
of the Treaty (2),

Whereas:

(1)

European standardisation is a voluntary activity performed
by and on behalf of parties interested in establishing
standards and other standardisation products in response to
their needs. These standardisation products are drawn up
by the European Committee for Standardisation,
the
European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation
and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute,
bodies listed in Annex I to Directive 98/34/EC of the
European Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998
laying down a procedure for the provision of information
in the field of technical standards and regulations and of
rules on Information Society services (3)
(hereinafter
European standardisation bodies).

(2) Directive 98/34/EC allows the Commission, after consult-
ing the committee set up by the Directive, to submit
requests for standardisation to the European standardisa-
tion bodies. General Guidelines
the Cooperation
between CEN, Cenelec and ETSI and the European
Commission and the European Free Trade Association of
28 March 2003 (4) set out the partnership relationships
between European standardisation bodies and the Com-
munity and the European Free Trade Association, which
also provides support for European standardisation.

for

(3)

It is necessary for the Community to contribute to the
financing of European standardisation in view of the latter's
useful role in supporting its legislation and policies. On the
one hand, European standardisation contributes to the
the internal market,
functioning and strengthening of
thanks especially to the New Approach directives in the
fields of health, safety and environmental and consumer
protection, and to ensuring interoperability in fields such as

transport. On the other hand, European standardisation
helps to boost
the competitiveness of enterprises by
facilitating in particular the free movement of goods and
services, network interoperability, means of communica-
tion, technological development and innovation in activities
such as information technology. Therefore, it is appropriate
to include in this Decision the financing of European
information
standardisation activities
technologies
also
governed, in particular, by Council Decision 87/95/EEC of
22 December 1986 on standardisation in the field of
information technology and telecommunications (5).

and telecommunications, which is

in the field of

(4)

(5)

This Decision should provide an explicit, complete and
detailed legal basis for the Community's financing of all the
European standardisation activities required to implement
its policies and legislation.

It is necessary to ensure that small and medium-sized
enterprises, particularly small, micro and craft enterprises,
are able to apply European standards. These standards
should therefore be designed and adapted to take account
of the characteristics and environment of such enterprises.

(6) Community financing should seek to establish standards or
other standardisation products, to facilitate their use by
enterprises through their
translation into the various
official Community languages, to strengthen the cohesion
of the European standardisation system and to ensure fair
and transparent access to European standards for all market
players throughout the European Union. This is especially
important in cases where the use of standards enables
compliance with Community legislation.

(7)

The appropriations allocated to European standardisation
activities should be fixed every year by the budgetary
authority within the limits of an indicative financial
envelope for a period of the relevant financial framework
and should be the subject of an annual Commission
decision fixing amounts
the
maximum co-financing rates by type of activity.

and, where necessary,

(1) OJ C 110, 9.5.2006, p. 14.
(2) Opinion of the European Parliament of 17 May 2006 (not yet
Journal) and Council Decision of

published in the Official
18 September 2006.

(3) OJ L 204, 21.7.1998, p. 37. Directive as last amended by the Act of

Accession of 2003.
(4) OJ C 91, 16.4.2003, p. 7.

(8)

In view of the very broad field of involvement of European
standardisation in support of Community policies and
legislation and the different types of standardisation activity,
there should be provision for different financing arrange-

(5) OJ L 36, 7.2.1987, p. 31. Decision amended by Regulation (EC)

No 807/2003 (OJ L 122, 16.5.2003, p. 36).

L 315/10

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

15.11.2006

to the European standardisation bodies

ments. In the main, this concerns grants without calls for
proposals
in
accordance with the provisions of the second subparagraph
of Article 110(1) of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom)
No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial
Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European
Communities (1) (hereinafter the Financial Regulation) and
Article 168(1)(d) of Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom)
No 2342/2002 of 23 December 2002 laying down detailed
rules for the implementation of Regulation (EC, Euratom)
No 1605/2002 (2).

(9)

Furthermore, the same should apply to those bodies which,
whilst not recognised as European standardisation bodies in
Annex I to Directive 98/34/EC, have been mandated in a
basic act and have been charged with carrying out
preliminary work in support of European standardisation
in cooperation with the European standardisation bodies.

(10) Member States are encouraged to ensure proper national

financing for standardisation tasks.

(11)

In addition, inasmuch as European standardisation bodies
provide ongoing support for Community activities, they
should have effective and efficient central secretariats. The
Commission should therefore be in a position to provide
grants to those bodies pursuing an objective of general
European interest without applying, in the case of operating
grants, the principle of annual reduction referred to in
Article 113(2) of the Financial Regulation. The effective
operation of European standardisation bodies also requires
that national members of these bodies fulfil their obliga-
to the European
tions as
standardisation system.

to financial contributions

for

legislation,

inter-laboratory tests

(12) The financing of standardisation activities should also be
capable of covering preliminary or ancillary activities in
connection with the establishment of standards or other
standardisation products. This refers primarily to work
involving research, the preparation of preliminary docu-
and the
ments
validation or evaluation of standards.
the
promotion of standardisation at European and internation-
al
should include carrying out programmes of
technical assistance and cooperation with third countries.
With a view to improving market access and boosting the
competitiveness of European Union enterprises,
there
should consequently be provision for giving grants to
other bodies
for proposals or, where
necessary, by awarding contracts.

through calls

In addition,

level

(14)

(15)

standardisation activities in accordance with the provisions
of the Financial Regulation. The European Parliament and
the Council should be informed of the content of these
agreements.

In view of the specific nature of standardisation work and
especially the involvement in the standardisation process of
various stakeholders, it should be acknowledged that the
the activities of producing European
co-financing of
standards or other standardisation products covered by a
Community grant could be provided by contributions in
kind, for instance by making experts available.

In order to ensure the effective implementation of this
Decision,
there should be the possibility of using the
requisite expertise, particularly with regard to auditing and
financial management, as well as administrative support
resources capable of facilitating implementation, and of
evaluating on a regular basis the relevance of the activities
receiving Community financing in order to ensure their
usefulness and impact.

(16) Appropriate measures should also be taken to avoid fraud
and irregularities and to recover funds unduly paid in
accordance with Council Regulations
(EC, Euratom)
No 2988/95 of 18 December 1995 on the protection of
interests (3) and
the European Communities
(Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 of 11 November 1996
concerning on-the-spot checks and inspections carried
out by the Commission in order to protect the European
Communities' financial
interests against fraud and other
irregularities (4) and Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 of the
European Parliament and of the Council of 25 May 1999
concerning investigations conducted by the European Anti-
Fraud Office (OLAF) (5),

financial

HAVE DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Subject

This Decision establishes the rules concerning the Community's
contribution to the financing of European standardisation in
order
specific policies,
the implementation of
measures, actions and Community legislation.

to support

Article 2

Bodies eligible for Community financing

(13) Partnership agreements are regularly signed between the
Commission and European standardisation bodies in order
to fix the administrative and financial rules on financing

Community financing may be granted to the recognised
European standardisation bodies listed in Annex I to Directive 98/
34/EC for the implementation of the activities listed in Article 3
of this Decision.

(1) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regulation

(EC, Euratom) No 1248/2006 (OJ L 227, 19.8.2006, p. 3).

(3) OJ L 312, 23.12.1995, p. 1.
(4) OJ L 292, 15.11.1996, p. 2.
(5) OJ L 136, 31.5.1999, p. 1.

15.11.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 315/11

However, Community financing may also be granted to other
bodies for the implementation of the preliminary and ancillary
work in connection with European standardisation referred to in
Article 3(1)(b), as well as for the programmes referred to in
Article 3(1)(f).

Article 3

Standardisation activities eligible for Community financing

Article 4

Financing

The appropriations allocated to the activities referred to in this
Decision shall be determined each year by the budgetary
authority within the limits of the financial framework.

Article 5

Financing arrangements

1. The Community may finance the following European
standardisation activities:

1. Community financing shall be provided:

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

the production and revision of European standards or any
other standardisation product which is necessary and
suitable for the implementation of Community policies
and legislation;

the performance of preliminary or ancillary work in
connection with European standardisation, such as studies,
programmes, evaluations, comparative analyses, research
work, laboratory work, inter-laboratory tests and conform-
ity evaluation work;

the activities of the central secretariats of the European
standardisation bodies, such as policy development, the
coordination of standardisation activities, the processing of
technical work and the provision of
information to
interested parties;

the verification of
the quality, and conformity to the
corresponding Community policies and legislation, of
European standards or any other standardisation product;

the translation, where required, of European standards or
any other European standardisation product used in
support of Community policies and legislation into official
Community languages other than the working languages of
the European standardisation bodies; the drawing up of
documents to explain, interpret and simplify standards, as
well as the drawing up of user guides and best practice
documents;

(f)

activities seeking to carry out programmes of technical
assistance, cooperation with third countries and the
promotion and enhancement of the European standardisa-
tion system and of European standards among interested
parties in the Community and at international level.

2. The activities referred to in paragraph (1)(a) shall be eligible
for Community financing only if
the committee set up by
Article 5 of Directive 98/34/EC has been consulted on the
requests to be submitted to the European standardisation bodies.

(a)

(b)

in the form of grants without a call for proposals, to
European standardisation bodies to carry out the activities
referred to in Article 3 and to bodies mandated in a basic
act
the Financial
Regulation to carry out, in collaboration with the European
standardisation bodies, the work referred to in Article 3(1)
(b) of this Decision;

in accordance with Article 49 of

in the form of grants after a call for proposals, or by public
procurement procedures, to other bodies to carry out, in
collaboration with the European standardisation bodies, the
standardisation work referred to in Article 3(1)(b) or the
programmes referred to in Article 3(1)(f).

2. The activities of the central secretariats of the European
standardisation bodies referred to in Article 3(1)(c) may be
financed on the basis either of grants for actions or of operating
grants. In the event of renewal, operating grants shall not be
automatically decreased.

3. The Commission shall decide on the financing arrangements
referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, on the amounts and, where
necessary, on the maximum percentage of financing by type of
activity. The decisions of the Commission in this regard shall be
made public.

the
4. Grant agreements may authorise flat-rate cover of
beneficiary's overheads up to a maximum of 30 % of total
eligible direct costs for actions, except where the indirect costs of
the beneficiary are covered through an operating grant financed
from the general budget of the European Union.

5. Co-financing in the form of contributions in kind shall be
acceptable. The evaluation of contributions in kind shall be
performed in accordance with Regulation (EC, Euratom)
No 2342/2002.

6. The common cooperation objectives and the administrative
and financial conditions relating to the grants awarded to
European standardisation bodies shall be defined in the frame-
work partnership agreements signed by the Commission and the
European standardisation bodies,
in accordance with the
Financial Regulation and Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/
2002. The European Parliament and the Council shall be
informed of the conclusion of these agreements.

L 315/12

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

15.11.2006

Article 6

Management and monitoring

1. The appropriations determined by the budgetary authority
for the financing of standardisation activities may also cover the
administrative expenses relating to the preparation, monitoring,
inspection, auditing and evaluation which are directly necessary
for achieving the objectives of this Decision, and particularly
studies, meetings,
information and publication activities,
expenses relating to informatics networks for the exchange of
information and any other expenditure on administrative and
technical assistance which the Commission may use for
standardisation activities.

the
2. The Commission shall evaluate the relevance of
standardisation activities receiving Community financing in the
light of the requirements of Community policies and legislation
and inform the European Parliament and the Council about the
outcome of such evaluation at least every five years.

Article 7

Protection of the Community's financial interests

1. The Commission shall ensure that, when the activities
financed under this Decision are implemented, the Community's
financial interests are protected by the application of preventive
measures against fraud, corruption and other illegal activities, by
effective checks and by the recovery of amounts unduly paid and,
irregularities are detected, by effective, proportionate and
if
(EC,
dissuasive penalties,

in accordance with Regulations

Euratom) No 2988/95, (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 and (EC)
No 1073/1999.

2.
For the Community activities financed pursuant to this
Decision, the notion of irregularity referred to in Article 1(2) of
Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 shall mean any infringe-
ment of a provision of Community law or any breach of a
contractual obligation resulting from an act or omission by an
economic operator which has, or would have, the effect of
prejudicing the general budget of the European Union or budgets
managed by it by an unjustified item of expenditure.

3. Any agreements and contracts resulting from this Decision
shall provide for monitoring and financial control by the
Commission or any representative which it authorises and for
audits by the Court of Auditors, which if necessary may be
conducted on the spot.

Article 8

Entry into force

This Decision shall enter into force on the 20th day following its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Done at Strasbourg, 24 October 2006.

For the European Parliament

For the Council

The President

The President

J. BORRELL FONTELLES

P. LEHTOMÄKI