Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on European Standardisation and amending Council Directives 89/686/EEC and 93/15/EEC and Directives 94/9/EC, 94/25/EC, 95/16/EC, 97/23/EC, 98/34/EC, 2004/22/EC, 2007/23/EC, 2009/105/EC and 2009/23/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
Date: 2011-06-01
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EC conformity marking, European standard, harmonisation of standards, production standard, quality standard, safety standard, technical standard

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 1.6.2011 
COM(2011) 315 final 

2011/0150 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on European Standardisation and amending Council Directives 89/686/EEC and 
93/15/EEC and Directives 94/9/EC, 94/25/EC, 95/16/EC, 97/23/EC, 98/34/EC, 
2004/22/EC, 2007/23/EC, 2009/105/EC and 2009/23/EC of the European Parliament and 
of the Council 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

{SEC(2011) 671 final} 
{SEC(2011) 672 final} 

 
 
  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

•  Grounds for and objectives of the proposal 

European  standardisation  results  from  voluntary  cooperation  between  industry,  public 
authorities  and  other  interested  parties  collaborating  within  a  system  founded  on  openness, 
transparency  and  consensus.  For  European  industry,  standards  summarise  best  practice  in  a 
specific area, because they encapsulate the collective expertise of the participating actors.  

In  the  future,  European  standardisation  will  play  a  crucial  role  in  a  wide  variety  of  areas, 
wider  than  today,  ranging  from  supporting  European  competitiveness,  protecting  the 
consumer, improving accessibility for disabled and elderly people to tackling climate change. 
To  respond  rapidly  to  evolving  needs  in  all  areas,  a  comprehensive,  inclusive,  efficient  and 
technically  up-to-date  European  standardisation  system  will  be  required.  This  system  will 
build on the strengths of the existing system, but will also need to be flexible and responsive 
in addressing future challenges as they arise.  

In its EUROPE 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth [COM(2010) 2020], 
the Commission highlighted the necessity to improve the method of standard setting and the 
use of standards in Europe to leverage European and international standards for the long-term 
competitiveness  of  European  industry  and  for  the  achievement  of  important  policy  goals  in 
areas such as e-government, e-health or e-accessibility. 

On  21  October  2010,  the  European  Parliament  adopted  a  report  on  the  future  of  European 
standardisation [A7-0276/2010] which indicated that the review of European standardisation 
should  preserve  its  many  successful  elements,  remedy  its  deficiencies  and  strike  the  right 
balance  between  the  European,  national  and  international  dimensions.  Furthermore,  it 
recognises that interoperability is key to innovation and competitiveness, especially in the ICT 
sector. 

In  its  communication  of  13  April  2011  on  the  ‘Single  market  Act:  Twelve  levers  to  boost 
growth and confidence', the Commission included among its twelve key priority actions to be 
adopted  by  the  EU  institutions  before  the  end  of  2012  the  extension  of  the  European 
standardisation system to services. 

•  General context 

Standards and standardisation are very effective policy tools for the EU. Although standards 
and  standardisation  have  much  wider  benefits  for  the  European  economy,  they  are  used  as 
policy instruments to ensure, inter alia, the functioning of the single market of products, the 
interoperability  of  networks  and  systems,  in  particular  in  the  field  of  ICT,  a  high  level  of 
consumer and environmental protection, and more innovation and social inclusion. 

Standards  are  indispensable  in  the  digital  society  to  ensure  the  interoperability  of  networks 
and  systems,  especially  in  the  field  of  ICT.  In  a  digitally  driven  society,  ICT  solutions  are 
used  in  any  economic  sector  as  well  as  in  our  daily  lives.  ICT  solutions,  applications  and 
services  have  to  be  able  to  communicate  with  each  other;  they  should  be  interoperable. 
Interoperability requires standards.  

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European  standards  play  a  very  important  part  in  the  functioning  of  the  internal  market  for 
industrial  products.  European  standards  replace  national  and  often  conflicting  standards 
which, as such, may create technical impediments to a national market.  

For  the  purpose  of  this  Regulation,  there  are  2  types  of  standards:  European  standards 
developed at the request of the Commission, on the basis of a so-called "mandate" in which 
the  ESOs  are  requested  to  draw  up,  and  the  other  European  standards  developed  at  the 
initiative of other actors (businesses, national standardisation bodies, stakeholders, etc.).  

This proposal addresses three major problems: 

1. In a rapidly changing world and society, especially in sectors characterized by very short 
product  lives  and  development  cycles,  standards  must  keep  pace  with  rapid  technological 
development. Some stakeholders argue that the entire process of creating European standards 
developed at the request of the Commission is too slow. The main negative consequence of a 
slow standard-setting process is that conflicting national standards continue, which may create 
technical barriers in the supply chain or barriers to trade if the national standard is used as a 
protectionist instrument. Another consequence is that, in the absence of harmonised standards, 
businesses cannot use the relevant standard to confer a presumption of conformity and must 
demonstrate  compliance  with  the  essential  requirements  in  accordance  with  the  conformity 
assessment  module  set  out  in  the  applicable  EU  legislation.  In  both  cases,  businesses  are 
prevented  from  saving  costs  incurred  due  to  fragmentation  of  the  internal  market  or 
conformity  assessment  procedures.  Conflicting  national  standards  or  the  absence  of 
harmonised standards lead to higher transaction costs and higher per-unit costs caused by the 
need  to  produce  divergent  batches.  Industry  reacts  to  this  situation  by  establishing  informal 
standardisation  channels  for  the  rapid  development  of  technical  specifications  to  ensure 
interoperability which gain an international reach. 

2. SMEs encounter a series of problems with respect to standards and standardisation. One of 
the  most  important  problems,  according  to  many  stakeholders,  is  that  SMEs  are  in  general 
under-represented  in  standardisation  activities,  in  particular  at  European  level.  Furthermore, 
standards often relate to the safety and well-being of citizens, the efficiency of networks, the 
environment and other public policy fields. Although standards play a major role in society, 
the  opinion  of  relevant  societal  stakeholders 
the 
standardisation  process  in  the  EU.  In  order  to  address  the  problem  of  insufficient 
representation  of  SMEs  and  societal  stakeholders  in  standardisation  activities,  financial 
contributions  are  paid  to  organisations  representing  SMEs  and  societal  stakeholders.  The 
criteria  for  eligibility  for  these  grants,  the  conditions  for  their  use  and  the  type  of  financial 
contributions  available  vary  widely.  Some  organisations  receive  grants  for  actions  while 
others  also  receive  operating  grants.  The  most  negative  consequence  of  the  problem  of 
insufficient participation of SMEs and societal stakeholders is their lack of influence on the 
process.  

is  not  sufficiently 

integrated 

in 

3.  In  the  field  of  ICT,  many  standards  ensuring  interoperability  are  not  elaborated  by  the 
ESOs  but  by  other  organisations  that  develop  standards  (hereinafter  "global  fora  and 
consortia").  A  concrete  example  are  Internet  and  World  Wide  Web  related  standards.  Due 
mostly to a lack of highly specialized expertise, the traditional standard-setting organisations 
do not cover the ICT domain and so currently a major part of the global ICT standardisation 
work  is  done  outside  the  formal  European  or  International  standardisation  system.  At  the 
moment, referring to "Fora and Consortia Standards" in public procurement which is subject 
to Directive 2004/18/CE is only possible in exceptional circumstances. Since these standards 

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do  not,  as  such,  fit  into  any  of  the  categories  of  standards  to  which  public  authorities  may 
refer in their calls for tenders, cautious public authorities will refrain from referring to them. 
The consequence is that the ITC that they are procuring may not be interoperable with ITC 
purchased by other authorities. This difficulty often prevents public authorities from defining 
their  ICT  strategies  and  architectures,  including  cross-border  interoperability  between 
organisations.  

•  Existing provisions in the area of the proposal 

This proposal replaces a part of Directive 98/34/EC and repeals Decisions No 1673/2006/EC 
and 87/95/EEC.  

•  Consistency with the other policies and objectives of the Union 

This  initiative  implements  the  Europe  2020  Flagship  Initiatives  on  the  Innovation  Union 
[COM(2010)546],  Industrial  Policy  [COM(2010)614],  a  Digital  Agenda  for  Europe 
[COM(2010)245]  and  a  Resource  Efficient  Europe  [COM(2011)21].  It  also  implements  the 
Single  Market  Act  [COM(2011)206],  as  well  as  the  Disability  Strategy  2010-2020 
[COM(2010)636]. It is part of a CWP 2011 Strategic initiative. 

2. CONSULTATION OF INTERESTED PARTIES AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT 

•  Consultation of interested parties 

Consultation methods, main sectors targeted and general profile of respondents 

Two  general  public  consultations  were  held  in  2009  and  2010  while  a  more  specific 
consultation  of  national  authorities,  European  Standards  Organisations,  National  Standards 
Bodies, stakeholder organisations and Fora and Consortia was organised in 2010. In 2009, the 
White  Paper  on  "Modernising  ICT  Standardisation  in  the  EU  –  The  Way  Forward"  was 
adopted. 

Moreover, this regulation builds on the work of an independent expert group, the Expert Panel 
for  the  Review  of  the  European  Standardisation  System  (EXPRESS),  was  composed  of  30 
experts  from  European,  national  and  international  standards  organisations,  industry,  SMEs, 
NGOs,  trade  unions,  academia,  fora  and  consortia  and  public  authorities  from  EU  Member 
States.  EXPRESS  delivered  its  report  "Standardisation  for  a  competitive  and  innovative 
Europe: a vision for 2020" to the European Commission in February 2010.  

Summary of responses and how they have been taken into account 

The responses to the consultations, the White Paper on "Modernising ICT Standardisation in 
the  EU  –  The  Way  Forward"  the  EXPRESS  report  "Standardisation  for  a  competitive  and 
innovative Europe: a vision for 2020" and the report of the European Parliament constitute the 
basis for the policy options that were eventually selected.  

An  open  consultation  was  conducted  over  the  internet  from  23/03/2010  to  21/05/2010.  The 
Commission received 483 responses. The results are available on 
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/european-standards/public-consultation/index_en.htm. 

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•  Collection and use of expertise 

There was no need for external expertise.0 

•  Impact assessment 

The impact assessment and its executive summary give an overview of the different options.  

Only  the  combination  of  policy  Options  1.A  (deadlines  on  the  delivery  of  European 
standards) and 1.C (transparent and simplified procedures for harmonised standards and other 
European  standards  requested  by  the  Commission),  and  policy  options  2.C  (strengthen  the 
position  of  organisations  representing  SMEs  and  societal  stakeholders  within  the  ESOs  by 
providing  for  the  possibility  of  an  operating  grant)  and  3.B  (referencing  of  "Fora  and 
Consortia Standards" in public procurement) meet the criteria of effectiveness, efficiency and 
consistency. Therefore, these 4 options constitute the basis of this proposal. 

The  Commission  carried  out  an  impact  assessment  listed  in  the  Work  Programme,  whose 
report is accessible on  
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/european-standards/index_en.htm. 

3. LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL 

•  Summary of the proposed action 

1. The cooperation between national standardisation bodies will become more transparent; 

2.  The  use  of  standards  developed  by  other  organisations  in  the  field  of  information  and 
communication  technologies  will  be  possible  in  public  procurement,  provided  that  these 
standards  comply  with  a  set  of  criteria  based  on  the  WTO  principles  for  international 
standardisation  processes,  in  domains  where  there  are  no  European  standards,  where 
European  standards  have  not  gained  market  uptake  or  where  these  standards  have  become 
obsolete. 

3. The planning will be improved: the Commission will establish an annual Work Programme, 
which will identify priorities for European standardisation and the mandates required.  

4. SMEs and societal stakeholders should be better represented in European standardisation, 
and the financial support to organisations representing SMEs and societal stakeholders will be 
ensured. 

5.  A  reduction  of  the  administrative  burden  imposed  on  the  Commission  and  the  ESOs,  for 
example by the possibility of a robust simplification of lump sums, clearly disconnected from 
any  verification  of  actual  costs  of  implementation.  This  proposal  constitutes  a  further  shift 
towards  a  performance-based  system,  based  on  the  definition  of  agreed  indicators  and 
objectives  (outputs  and  outcomes).  The  speed  and  the  efficiency  of  the  standard-setting 
process could constitute such an objective. 

6.  Although  European  standards  are  already  widely  used  for  transport  and  logistics,  postal 
services  and  electronic  communications  networks  and  services,  the  voluntary  European 
standards have played a less prominent role in supporting the completion of the single market 

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for  services.  This  proposal  therefore  includes  service  standards  within  its  scope  in  order  to 
enable  the  Commission  to  issue  mandates  requesting  the  development  of  European  service 
standards and to finance a part of the cost of this development.  

•  Legal basis 

Article 114 TFEU 

•  Subsidiarity principle 

The  subsidiarity  principle  applies  insofar  as  the  proposal  does  not  fall  under  the  exclusive 
competence of the EU. 

The objectives of the proposal cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States for the 
following reason(s). 

European  standardisation  supports  European  legislation  establishing  the  Single  Market  and 
contributes  to  increasing  the  competitiveness  of  European  industry.  The  harmonisation  of 
standards of products at European level overcomes technical barriers to trade which could be 
caused  by  conflicting  national  standards.  Therefore,  problems  relating  to  standardisation  at 
European level require a solution at European level.  

EU action will better achieve the objectives of the proposal for the following reason(s). 

The  objective  of  ensuring  the  functioning  of  the  internal  market  by  reducing  obstacles  to 
intra-EU trade arising from different national standards on products could not be sufficiently 
achieved by Member States. It was therefore felt appropriate in accordance with the principle 
of subsidiarity, by reason of the scale and effects of the problem, to achieve this at EU level. 

European  standards  play  a  very  important  part  in  the  functioning  of  the  internal  market  for 
industrial  products.  European  standards  replace  national  and  often  conflicting  standards 
which,  as  such,  may  create  technical  impediments  to  enter  a  national  market.  Harmonised 
standards  ensure  that  products  meet  the  essential  requirements  set  out  in  EU  legislation. 
Compliance with a European "harmonised" standard guarantees the required level of safety of 
products. However, use of harmonised standards is still voluntary and a manufacturer may use 
any  other  technical  solution  which  demonstrates  that  his  product  meets  the  essential 
requirements.  

During  the  impact  assessment  process,  many  non-legislative  options  were  discarded  for 
reasons related to subsidiarity as set out in detail in the impact assessment. 

The proposal therefore complies with the subsidiarity principle. 

•  Proportionality principle 

The proposal complies with the proportionality principle for the following reason(s). 

The  proposal  only  relates  to  the  functioning  of  standardisation  at  European  level  and  the 
cooperation  between  national  standardisation  bodies  in  order  to  avoid  conflicting  national 
standards.  

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This  proposal  does  not  lead  to  any  new  administrative  burden  for  economic  operators, 
national governments, regional and local authorities and citizens.  

•  Choice of instruments 

Proposed instruments: regulation. 

Other means would not be adequate for the following reason(s). 

The suggested options as well as the simplification items do not require an amendment of the 
legislation  of  Member  States.  This  instrument  only  concerns  the  European  standardisation 
organisations, the cooperation between the national standardisation bodies, the involvement of 
organisations  representing  SMEs  and  societal  stakeholders  in  European  standardisation,  and 
the Commission. Therefore, a Directive would not be an appropriate instrument in this case.  

The legal instrument would have to be of general application, in particular for the part on the 
use  of  Fora  and  Consortia  standards  in  procurement  which  would  have  to  be  directly 
applicable  in  all  Member  States.  In  addition,  the  legislative  instrument  would  contain  a 
number  of  obligations  that  would  be  directly  applicable  to  the  European  standardisation 
organisations,  the  national  standardisation  bodies,  organisations  representing  SMEs  and 
societal stakeholders in European standardisation, and the Commission. Therefore, the most 
appropriate  legal  instrument  is  a  regulation.  Alternative  options  would  not  have  been 
sufficient to achieve the proposed objectives. 

4. BUDGETARY IMPLICATION 

The budgetary implications are set out in the financial statement. 

5. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 

•  Simplification 

The proposal provides for simplification of legislation. 

Standardisation  will  be  extended  to  services.  The  financial  management  will  be  simplified. 
For further details, see below. 

The  proposal  is  included  in  the  Commission's  rolling  programme  for  up-date  and 
simplification of the EU acquis and its Work and Legislative Programme under the reference 
2010/ENTR/0021. 

•  Repeal of existing legislation 

The adoption of the proposal will lead to the repeal of existing legislation. 

•  Review/revision/sunset clause 

The proposal includes a review clause. 

•  European Economic Area 

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The  proposed  act  concerns  an  EEA  matter  and  should  therefore  extend  to  the  European 
Economic Area. 

•  Detailed explanation of the proposal 

This proposal aims at revising and merging: 

1. Council Decision 87/95/EEC on standardisation in the field of information technology and 
telecommunications, by the repeal of almost all its (outdated) provisions and the introduction 
of  a  new  system  allowing  the  use,  in  the  field  of  public  procurement,  of  ICT  standards 
developed by organisations other than the European standardisation bodies. 

2. Directive 98/34/EC laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of 
technical standards and regulations and of rules on Information Society services (whereby all 
articles  related  to  the  notification  of  draft  technical  regulations  fall  outside  the  scope  of  the 
proposal and remain unaltered), through the following measures: the European cooperation on 
standardisation will be extended to services, the cooperation between national standardisation 
bodies  will  become  more  transparent,  SMEs  and  societal  stakeholders  will  be  better 
represented  in  European  standardisation,  and  the  financial  support  to  organisations 
representing SMEs and societal stakeholders will be ensured. 

3.  Decision  No  1673/2006/EC  on  the  financing  of  European  standardisation.  The  main 
principles  of  this  Decision  will  remain  unaltered  but  the  following  novelties  will  be 
introduced  in  line  with  the  proposed  new  Financial  Regulation:  a  reduction  of  the 
administrative  burden  imposed  on  operational  services  and  the  European  standardisation 
bodies,  for  example  by  the  possibility  of  a  robust  simplification  of  lump  sums,  clearly 
disconnected  from  any  verification  of  actual  costs  of  implementation.  This  proposal 
constitutes  a  further  shift  towards  a  performance-based  system,  based  on  the  definition  of 
agreed indicators and objectives (outputs and outcomes). The speed and the efficiency of the 
standard-setting process constitute such an objective. 

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2011/0150 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on European Standardisation and amending Council Directives 89/686/EEC and 
93/15/EEC and Directives 94/9/EC, 94/25/EC, 95/16/EC, 97/23/EC, 98/34/EC, 
2004/22/EC, 2007/23/EC, 2009/105/EC and 2009/23/EC of the European Parliament and 
of the Council 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 114 thereof,  

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national Parliaments, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee1, 

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

The  primary  objective  of  standardisation  is  the  definition  of  voluntary  technical  or 
quality  specifications  with  which  current  or  future  products,  production  processes  or 
services may comply. Standardisation can cover various issues, such as standardisation 
of different grades or sizes of a particular product or technical specifications in product 
or  services  markets  where  compatibility  and  interoperability  with  other  products  or 
systems is essential.  

European  standardisation  also  helps  to  boost  the  competitiveness  of  enterprises  by 
facilitating  in  particular  the  free  movement  of  goods  and  services,  network 
interoperability, means of communication, technological development and innovation. 
Standards  produce  significant  positive  economic  effects,  for  example  by  promoting 
economic interpenetration on the internal market and encouraging the development of 
new  and  improved  products  or  markets  and  improved  supply  conditions.  Standards 
thus  normally  increase  competition  and  lower  output  and  sales  costs,  benefiting 
economies  as  a  whole.  Standards  may  maintain  and  enhance  quality,  provide 

1 

OJ C […], […], p. […]. 

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(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

information and ensure interoperability and compatibility, thereby increasing value for 
consumers. 

European  standards  should  continue  to  be  adopted  by  the  European  standardisation 
bodies,  namely  European  Committee  for  Standardisation  (CEN),  the  European 
Committee  for  Electrotechnical  Standardisation  (CENELEC)  and  the  European 
Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI).  

European  standards  play  a  very  important  role  within  the  internal  market,  mainly 
through the presumption of conformity of products to be made available on the market 
with  the  essential  requirements  of  those  products  laid  down  in  Union  harmonisation 
legislation. 

European standardisation is governed by a specific legal framework consisting of three 
different  legal  acts,  namely  Directive  98/34/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  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 
services2, Decision No 1673/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council 
of  24  October  2006  on  the  financing  of  European  standardisation3  and  Council 
Decision  87/95 EEC  of  22 December 1986  on  standardisation  in  the  field  of 
information  technology  and  telecommunications4.  However,  the  current  regulatory 
framework is no longer up to date with the developments of European standardisation 
during the last decades. Therefore, the regulatory framework should be simplified and 
adapted  in  order  to  cover  new  aspects  of  standardisation  to  reflect  the  latest 
developments  and  future  challenges  in  European  standardisation.  That  relates  in 
particular  to  the  increased  development  of  service  standards  and  the  evolution  of 
standardisation products other than formal standards. 

In order to ensure the effectiveness of standards and standardisation as policy tools for 
the  Union,  it  is  necessary  to  have  an  effective  and  efficient  standardisation  system 
which provides a flexible and transparent platform for consensus building between all 
participants and which is financially viable.  

Directive  2006/123/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  12 
December  2006  on  services  in  the  internal  market5  establishes  general  provisions 
facilitating the exercise of the freedom of establishment for service providers and the 
free movement of services, while maintaining a high quality of services. It obliges the 
Member States, in cooperation with the Commission, to encourage the development of 
voluntary  European  standards  with  the  aim  of  facilitating  compatibility  between 
services supplied by providers in different Member States, information to the recipient 
and  the  quality  of  service  provision.  However,  Directive  98/34/EC  only  applies  to 
standards  for  products  while  standards  for  services  are  not  expressly  covered  by  it. 
However, the delineation between services and goods is becoming less relevant in the 
reality  of  the  internal  market.  In  practice,  it  is  not  always  possible  to  clearly 
distinguish standards on products from standards on services. Many product standards 
have  a  service  component  while  standards  on  services  often  also  partly  relate  to 

2 
3 
4 
5 

OJ L 24, 21.7.1998, p. 37. 
OJ L 315, 15.11.2006, p. 9. 
OJ L 36, 7.2.1987, p. 31. 
OJ L376, 27.12.2006. 

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products.  Thus,  it  is  necessary  to  adapt  the  legal  framework  to  these  new 
circumstances by extending its scope to standards on services. 

(8) 

(9) 

The development of voluntary standards on services should be market-driven whereby 
the needs of the economic operators and stakeholders directly or indirectly affected by 
the standard prevail and should take into account the public interest and be based on 
consensus. They should primarily focus on services linked to products and processes. 

The European standardisation bodies are subject to competition law to the extent that 
they can be considered to be an undertaking or an association of undertakings within 
the meaning of Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty. 

(10)  Within  the  Union,  national  standards  are  adopted  by  national  standardisation  bodies 
which  could  lead  to  conflicting  standards  and  technical  impediments  in  the  internal 
market. Therefore, it is necessary for the internal market and for the effectiveness of 
standardisation  within  the  Union  to  confirm  the  existing  regular  exchange  of 
information between the national standardisation bodies, the European standardisation 
bodies  and  the  Commission,  about  current  and  future  standardisation  work.  This 
exchange of information should be aligned with Annex 3 to Agreement on Technical 
Barriers  to  Trade  approved  by  Council  Decision  No  80/271/EEC  of  10  December 
1979  concerning  the  conclusion  of  the  Multilateral  Agreements  resulting  from  the 
1973 to 1979 trade negotiations6. 

(11)  The regular exchange of information between the national standardisation bodies, the 
European  standardisation  bodies  and 
the  Commission  should  not  prevent 
standardisation  bodies  to  comply  with  other  obligations  and  commitments,  and  in 
particular with Annex 3 to the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade. 

(12)  Standards  can  contribute  to  helping  European  policy  address  the  major  societal 
challenges such as climate change, sustainable resource use, ageing, and innovation in 
general. By driving the development of European or international standards for goods 
and  technologies  in  these  expanding  markets,  Europe  could  create  a  competitive 
advantage for its companies and facilitate trade.  

(13)  Standards are important tools for undertakings and especially small and medium-sized 
enterprises  (hereinafter  'SME')  which,  however,  are  not  adequately  involved  in  the 
standardisation system so that the risk exists that standards do not take into account the 
needs  and  concerns  of  SME.  Consequently,  it  is  essential  to  improve  their 
representation  and  participation  in  the  standardisation  process,  particularly  in  the 
technical committees. 

(14)  European  standards  are  of  vital  interest  for  the  competitiveness  of  SMEs  which, 
however, are in general under-represented in standardisation activities, in particular at 
European level. Thus, this Regulation should ensure an appropriate representation of 
SME  in  the  European  standardisation  process  by  an  entity  with  appropriate 
qualifications. 

(15)  Standards  can  have  a  broad  impact  on  society,  in  particular  on  the  safety  and  well-
being of citizens, the efficiency of networks, the environment, accessibility and other 

6 

OJ L 71, 17.3.1980, p. 1. 

EN 

10 

   EN 

 
                                                 
public policy fields. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that the role and the input of 
societal  stakeholders  in  the  elaboration  of  standards  is  strengthened,  through  the 
support of organisations representing the interests of consumers, the environment and 
societal stakeholders. 

(16)  Standards  should  as  far  as  possible  take  into  account  environmental  impacts 
throughout  the  life  cycle  of  products  and  services.  Important  and  publicly  available 
tools for evaluating such impacts throughout the life cycle have been developed by the 
Commission's Joint Research Centre. 

(17)  The  viability  of  the  cooperation  between  the  Commission  and  the  European 
standardisation  system  depends  on  careful  planning  of  future  requests  for  the 
development of standards. This planning could be improved, in particular through the 
input  of  interested  parties.  Since  Directive  98/34/EC  already  provides  for  the 
possibility  to  request  the  European  standardisation  bodies  to  elaborate  European 
standards, it is appropriate to put in place a better and more transparent planning in an 
annual  work  programme  which  should  contain  an  overview  of  all  requests  for 
standards  which  the  Commission  intends  to  submit  to  European  standardisation 
bodies. 

(18)  Several  Directives  harmonizing  the  conditions  for  the  marketing  of  products  specify 
that  the  Commission  may  request  the  adoption,  by  the  European  standardisation 
bodies, of harmonised European standards on the basis of which conformity with the 
applicable essential requirements is presumed. However, many of these legislative acts 
contain a wide variety of provisions on objections to these standards when the latter do 
not, or not entirely, cover all applicable requirements. Diverging provisions which lead 
to  uncertainty  for  economic  operators  and  European  standardisation  bodies  are  in 
particular  contained  in  Council  Directive  89/686/EEC  of  21  December  1989  on  the 
approximation  of  the  laws  of  the  Member  States  relating  to  personal  protective 
equipment7, Council Directive 93/15/EEC of 5 April 1993 on the harmonisation of the 
provisions relating to the placing on the market and supervision of explosives for civil 
uses8,  Directive  94/9/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  of  23  March 
1994  on  the  approximation  of  the  laws  of  the  Member  States  concerning  equipment 
and  protective  systems  intended  for  use  in  potentially  explosive  atmospheres9, 
Directive 94/25/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 June 1994 on 
the  approximation  of  the  laws,  regulations  and  administrative  provisions  of  the 
Member  States  relating  to  recreational  craft10,  Directive  95/16/EC  of  the  European 
Parliament and of the Council of 29 June 1995 on the approximation of the laws of the 
Member States relating to lifts11, Directive 97/23/EC of the European Parliament and 
of the Council of 29 May 1997 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States 
concerning  pressure  equipment12,  Directive  2004/22/EC  of  the  European  Parliament 
and  of  the  Council  of  31  March  2004  on  measuring  instruments13,  Directive 
2007/23/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  23  May  2007  on  the 

7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 

OJ L 399, 30.12.1989, p.18. 
OJ L 121, 15.5.1993, p. 20. 
OJ L 100, 19.4.1994, p. 1. 
OJ L 164, 30.6.1994, p.15. 
OJ L 213, 7.9.1995, p. 1. 
OJ L 181, 9.7.1997, p. 1. 
OJ L 135, 30.4.2004, p. 1. 

EN 

11 

   EN 

 
                                                 
placing  on  the  market  of  pyrotechnic  articles14,  Directive  2009/105/EC  of  the 
European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  16  September  2009  relating  to  simple 
pressure  vessels15  and  Directive  2009/23/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  23  April  2009  on  non-automatic  weighing  instruments16.  Therefore,  it  is 
necessary to include in this Regulation the uniform procedure provided for in Decision 
No 768/2008/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 on a 
common  framework  for  the  marketing  of  products  and  repealing  Council  Decision 
93/465/EEC17, and delete the relevant provisions in those Directives.  

(19)  Public  authorities  should  make  best  use  of  the  full  range  of  relevant  standards  when 
procuring  hardware,  software  and  information  technology  services,  for  example  by 
selecting standards which can be implemented by all interested suppliers, allowing for 
more competition and reduced risk of lock-in. Directive 2004/17/EC of the European 
Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  31  March  2004  coordinating  the  procurement 
procedures  of  entities  operating  in  the  water,  energy,  transport  and  postal  services 
sectors18 and Directive 2004/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 
31  March  2004  on  the  coordination  of  procedures  for  the  award  of  public  works 
contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts19 specify that technical 
specifications  in  public  procurement  should  be  formulated  by  reference  to  national 
standards  transposing  European  standards,  European  technical  approvals,  common 
technical  specifications,  international  standards,  other  technical  reference  systems 
established  by  the  European  standardisation  bodies  or  -  when  these  do  not  exist  -  to 
national  standards,  national  technical  approvals  or  national  technical  specifications 
relating to the design, calculation and execution of the works and use of the products, 
or equivalent. Standards in the field of information and communication technologies, 
however,  are often  developed  by other standard  developing organisations and do not 
fall  in  any  of  the  categories  of  standards  and  approvals  laid  down  in  Directives 
2004/17/EC and 2004/18/EC. Therefore, it is necessary to provide for the possibility 
that technical specifications for public procurement could refer to standards in the field 
of  information  and  communication  technologies,  in  order  to  respond  to  the  fast 
evolution  in  the  field  of  information  and  communication  technologies,  facilitate  the 
provision  of 
and  promote 
interoperability and innovation.  

cross-border 

competition 

encourage 

services, 

(20)  Some  standards  in  the  field  of  information  and  communication  technologies  are  not 
developed according to the criteria set out in Annex 3 of the Agreement on Technical 
Barriers  to  Trade.  Therefore,  this  Regulation  should  lay  down  a  procedure  for  the 
selection of the standards in the field of information and communication technologies 
that  could  be  used  in  public  procurement,  involving  a  broad  consultation  of  a  large 
spectrum  of  stakeholders,  including  the  European  standardisation  bodies,  enterprises 
and public authorities. This Regulation should also lay down requirements, in the form 
of a list of attributes, for such standards and their associated standardisation processes. 
These  attributes  should  ensure  that  public  policy  objectives  and  societal  needs  are 

14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 

OJ L 154, 14.6.2007, p. 1. 
OJ L 264, 8.10.2009, p. 12. 
OJ L 122, 16.5.2009, p. 6. 
OJ L 218, 13.8.2008, p. 82. 
OJ L 134, 30.4.2004, p. 1. 
OJ L 134, 30.4.2004, p. 114. 

EN 

12 

   EN 

 
                                                 
respected,  and  should  be  founded  on  the  criteria  developed  within  the  World  Trade 
Organisation for international standardisation organisations.  

(21) 

In  order  to  further  innovation  and  competition  between  standardised  solutions,  the 
recognition  of  a  particular  technical  specification  should  not  disqualify  a  competing 
technical specification from being recognised in accordance with the provisions of this 
Regulation. Any recognition should be subject to the attributes being fulfilled and to 
the  technical  specification  having  achieved  a  minimum  level  of  market  acceptance. 
Market  acceptance  should  not  be  interpreted  as  having  been  widely  implemented  in 
the market. 

(22)  The  selected  standards  in  the  field  of  information  and  communication  technologies 
could contribute to the implementation of Decision No 922/2009/EC of the European 
Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2009 on interoperability solutions for 
European public administrations (ISA)20 which establishes, for the period 2010-2015, 
a  programme  on  interoperability  solutions  for  European  public  administrations  and 
institutions  and  bodies  of  the  Union,  providing  common  and  shared  solutions 
facilitating interoperability. 

(23)  Situations  may  arise  in  the  field  of  information  and  communication  technologies 
where it is appropriate to encourage the use of, or require, compliance with specified 
standards at Union level in order to ensure interoperability in the single market and to 
improve freedom of choice for users. In other circumstances, it may also happen that 
specified  European  standards  no  longer  meet  consumers'  needs  or  are  hampering 
technological development. For these reasons, Directive 2002/21/EC of the European 
Parliament and the Council of 7 March 2002 on a common regulatory framework for 
electronic  communications  networks  and  services21  enables  the  Commission,  where 
necessary,  to  request  European  standardisation  bodies  to  draw  up  standards,  to 
establish  a  list  of  standards  and/or  specifications  published  in  the  Official  Journal  of 
the  European  Union  with  the  view  to  encourage  their  use,  or  to  make  their 
implementation  compulsory,  or  to  remove  standards  and/or  specifications  from  that 
list. 

(24)  This Regulation should not prevent European standardisation bodies from continuing 
to develop standards in the field of information and communication technologies and 
to increase their cooperation with other standard developing bodies, especially in the 
field  of  information  and  communication  technologies,  in  order  to  ensure  coherence 
and  avoid  fragmentation  or  duplication  during  implementation  of  standards  and 
specifications. 

(25)  Decision  No  1673/2006/EC  establishes  the  rules  concerning  the  contribution  of  the 
Union  to  the  financing  of  European  standardisation  in  order  to  ensure  that  European 
standards  and  other  European  standardisation  deliverables  are  developed  and  revised 
in support of the objectives, legislation and policies of the Union. It is appropriate, for 
the  purpose  of  administrative  and  budgetary  simplification,  to  incorporate  the 
provisions  of  that  Decision  into  this  Regulation  in  line  with  the  proposed  new 
Financial Regulation.  

20 
21 

OJ L 260, 3.10.2009, p. 20. 
OJ L 108, 24.4.2002, p. 33. 

EN 

13 

   EN 

 
                                                 
(26) 

In view of the very broad field of involvement of European standardisation in support 
of Union policies and legislation and the different types of standardisation activity, it 
is  necessary  to  provide  for  different  financing  arrangements.  This  mainly  concerns 
grants without calls for proposals to the European and national standardisation bodies 
in accordance with 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  Communities22  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 Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 
1605/2002  on  the  Financial  Regulation  applicable  to  the  general  budget  of  the 
European  Communities23.  Furthermore,  the  same  provisions  should  apply  to  those 
bodies  which,  whilst  not  recognised  as  European  standardisation  bodies  in  this 
Regulation, have been mandated in a basic act and have been entrusted with carrying 
out preliminary work  in support of European standardisation in cooperation with the 
European standardisation bodies.  

(27) 

Inasmuch  as  European  standardisation  bodies  provide  ongoing  support  for  Union 
activities, 
they  should  have  effective  and  efficient  central  secretariats.  The 
Commission  should  therefore  be  allowed  to  provide  grants  to  those  bodies  that  are 
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 
Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002. 

(28)  Decision  No  1639/2006/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  24 
October 2006 establishing a Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme 
(2007 to 2013)24, Decision No 1926/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the 
Council of 18 December 2006 establishing a programme of Community action in the 
field  of  consumer  policy  (2007-2013)25  and  Regulation  (EC)  No  614/2007  of  the 
European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  23  May  2007  concerning  the  Financial 
Instrument  for  the  Environment  (LIFE+)26  already  provide  for  the  possibility  of 
financial  support  of  European  organisations  representing  SME,  consumers  and 
environmental interests in standardisation, while specific grants are paid to European 
organisations  representing  social  interests  in  standardisation.  The  financing  under 
Decision  No  1639/2006/EC,  Decision  No  1926/2006/EC  and  Regulation  (EC)  No 
614/2007  will  end  on  31  December  2013.  It  is  essential  for  the  development  of 
European  standardisation 
the  active 
participation  of  European  organisations 
representing  SME,  consumers  and 
environmental  and  social  interests.  Such  organisations  pursue  an  aim  of  general 
European interest and constitute, by virtue of the specific mandate that national non-
profit  organisations  have  given  them,  a  European  network  representing  non-profit 
bodies  active  in  the  Member  States  and  promoting  principles  and  policies  consistent 
with the objectives of the Treaties. Because of the context in which they operate and 
their  statutory  objectives,  European  organisations  representing  SME,  consumers  and 
environmental and social interests in European standardisation have a permanent role 

to  continue  fostering  and  encouraging 

22 
23 
24 
25 
26 

OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. 
OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 1. 
OJ L 310, 9.11.2006, p. 15. 
OJ L 404, 30.12.2006, p. 39. 
OJ L 149, 9.6.2007, p. 1. 

EN 

14 

   EN 

 
                                                 
which is essential for Union activities and policies. Therefore, the Commission should 
be in a position to continue providing grants to those bodies without applying, in the 
case of operating grants, the principle of annual reduction referred to in Article 113(2) 
of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002.  

(29)  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  is  necessary  primarily  for  work  involving 
research,  the  preparation  of  preliminary  documents  for  legislation,  inter-laboratory 
tests and the validation or evaluation of standards. The promotion of standardisation at 
European and international level should also continue through programmes relating to 
the  technical  assistance  to,  and  cooperation  with,  third  countries.  With  a  view  to 
improving market access and boosting the competitiveness of enterprises in the Union, 
it  should  be  possible  to  give  grants  to  other  bodies  through  calls  for  proposals  or, 
where necessary, by awarding contracts. 

(30)  Union financing should seek to establish standards or other standardisation products, 
to  facilitate  their  use  by  enterprises  through  their  translation  into  the  various  official 
Union  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 Union. This is especially important in cases where the use of standards 
enables compliance with Union legislative acts. 

(31) 

In  order  to  ensure  the  effective  application  of  this  Regulation,  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 Union financing in order to ensure their usefulness and impact.  

(32)  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  the  European  Communities 
financial interests27 and (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 irregularities28 
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)29. 

(33) 

In order to update the lists of European standardisation bodies, to adapt the criteria for 
recognising standards in the field of information and communication technologies to 
technical  developments  and  to  adapt  the  criteria  for  organisations  representing  SME 
and  societal  stakeholders  to  further  developments  as  regards  their  non-profit  making 
nature and representativity, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of 
the  Treaty  should  be  delegated  to  the  Commission  in  respect  of  amendments  to  the 

27 
28 
29 

OJ L 312, 23.12.1995, p. 1. 
OJ L 292, 15.11.1996, p. 2. 
OJ L 136, 31.5.1999, p. 1. 

EN 

15 

   EN 

 
                                                 
Annexes  to  this Regulation.  It  is of  particular importance that the Commission carry 
out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level. 

(34)  The  Commission,  when  preparing  and  drawing-up  delegated  acts,  should  ensure  a 
simultaneous,  timely  and  appropriate  transmission  of  relevant  documents  to  the 
European Parliament and Council. 

(35) 

In  order  to  ensure  uniform  conditions  for  the  implementation  of  this  Regulation, 
implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission. Those powers should 
be  exercised  in  accordance  with  Regulation  (EU)  No  182/2011  of  the  European 
Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 laying down the rules and general 
principles  concerning  mechanisms  for  control  by  the  Member  States  of  the 
Commission's exercise of implementing powers30.  

(36)  The advisory procedure should be used for the implementing decisions with respect to 
the objections to harmonised standards which the Commission considers justified and 
where the references to the harmonised standard concerned were not yet published in 
the Official Journal of the European Union, given that the relevant standard did not yet 
lead  to  the  presumption  of  conformity  with  the  essential  requirements  set  out  in  the 
applicable Union harmonisation legislation. 

(37)  The  examination  procedure  should  be  used  for  the  implementing  decisions  with 
respect  to  the  objections  to  harmonised  standards  which  the  Commission  considers 
justified and where the references to the harmonised standard concerned were already 
published  in  the  Official  Journal  of  the  European  Union,  given  that  such  decision 
could  have  consequences  on  the  presumption  of  conformity  with  the  applicable 
essential requirements.  

(38)  Since  standardisation  at  European  level  cannot  be  sufficiently  achieved  by  the 
Member States and can, therefore, by reason of its scale and effect, be better achieved 
at the Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of 
subsidiarity  as  set  out  in  Article 5  of  the  Treaty  on  European  Union.  In  accordance 
with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not 
go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective. 

(39)  Directives  98/34/EC,  89/686/EEC,  93/15/EEC,  94/9/EC,  94/25/EC,  95/16/EC, 
97/23/EC, 98/34/EC, 2004/22/EC, 2007/23/EC, 2009/105/EC and 2009/23/EC should 
therefore be amended accordingly. 

(40)  Decision No 1673/2006/EC and Decision 87/95/EEC should therefore be repealed, 

30 

OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p. 13. 

EN 

16 

   EN 

 
                                                 
HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Chapter I 
General Provisions 

Article 1 
 Subject matter 

This  Regulation  establishes  rules  with  regard  to  the  cooperation  between  European 
standardisation bodies, national standardisation bodies and the Commission, the establishment 
of European standards and European standardisation deliverables for products and for services 
in support of Union legislation and policies, the recognition of technical specifications in the 
field  of  information  and  communication  technologies  (hereinafter  “ICT”)  and  financing  of 
European standardisation. 

Article 2 
Definitions 

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply: 

(1) 

‘standard’ means a technical specification for repeated or continuous application, with 
which compliance is not compulsory, and which is one of the following: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

‘international  standard’  means  a  standard  adopted  by  an  international 
standardisation body;  

‘European  standard’  means  a  standard  adopted  by  one  of  the  European 
standardisation bodies; 

‘harmonised  standard’  means  a  European  standard  adopted  on  the  basis  of  a 
request  made  by  the  Commission  for  the  application  of  Union  harmonisation 
legislation; 

‘national  standard’  means  a  standard  adopted  by  a  national  standardisation 
body; 

‘ICT standard’ means a standard in the field of information and communication 
technologies. 

‘European standardisation deliverable’ means any other technical specification than a 
European  standard,  adopted  by  a  European  standardisation  body  for  repeated  or 
continuous application and with which compliance is not compulsory;  

‘draft  standard’  means  a  document  containing the text of the technical specifications 
concerning a given subject, which is being considered for adoption in accordance with 
the  relevant  standards  procedure,  as  that  document  stands  after  the  preparatory  work 
and as circulated for public comment or scrutiny; 

(2) 

(3) 

EN 

17 

   EN 

 
(4) 

‘technical  specification’  means  a  specification  contained  in  a  document  which  lays 
down one of the following: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

the  characteristics  required  of  a  product 
levels  of  quality, 
performance, interoperability, safety or dimensions, including the requirements 
applicable to the product as regards the name under which the product is sold, 
terminology,  symbols,  testing  and  test  methods,  packaging,  marking  or 
labelling and conformity assessment procedures; 

including 

production  methods  and  processes  used  in  respect  of  agricultural  products  as 
referred to Article 38(1) of the Treaty, products intended for human and animal 
consumption,  and  medicinal  products,  as  well  as  production  methods  and 
processes  relating  to  other  products,  where  these  have  an  effect  on  their 
characteristics; 

the  characteristics  required  of  a  service 
levels  of  quality, 
performance, interoperability, safety, including the requirements applicable to 
the provider as regards the information to be made available to the recipient, as 
referred to in Article 22(1) to (3) of Directive 2006/123/EC; 

including 

the  methods  and  the  criteria  for  assessing  the  performance  of  construction 
products,  as  defined  in  Article  2(1)  of  Regulation  (EU)  No  305/2011  of  the 
European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  9  March  2011  laying  down 
harmonised  conditions  for  the  marketing  of  construction  products  and 
repealing  Council  Directive  89/106/EEC31,  in  relation  to  their  essential 
characteristics. 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

‘product’  means  any  industrially  manufactured  product  and  any  agricultural  product, 
including fish products; 

‘service’  means  any  self-employed  economic  activity  normally  provided  for 
remuneration, as referred to in Article 57 of the Treaty;  

‘European standardisation body’ means a body referred to in Annex I; 

'International  standardisation  body"  means 
the  International  Organisation  for 
Standardization  (ISO),  the  International  Electrotechnical  Commission  (IEC)  and  the 
International Telecommunication Union (ITU); 

Chapter II 
Transparency and stakeholder participation 

Article 3 
 Transparency of work programmes of standardisation bodies 

1. 

At least once a year, each European and national standardisation body shall establish 
its  work  programme.  That  work  programme  shall  contain  information  on  the 

31 

OJ L 88, 4.4.2011, p. 5. 

EN 

18 

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standards  and  European  standardisation  deliverables  which  it  intends  to  prepare  or 
amend, which it is preparing or amending and which it has adopted in the preceding 
period,  unless  these  are  identical  or  equivalent  transpositions  of  international  or 
European standards. 

2. 

The  work  programme  shall  for  each  standard  and  European  standardisation 
deliverable indicate: 

(a) 

the subject matter; 

(b) 

the  stage  attained  in  the  development  of  the  standards  and  European 
standardisation deliverables; 

(c) 

the references of any international standards taken as a basis.  

Each  European  and  national  standardisation  body  shall  make  its  work  programme 
available on its web site or any other publicly available web site and a notice of the 
existence  of  the  work  programme  in  a  national  or,  where  appropriate,  European 
publication of standardization activities. 

No  later  than  at  the  time  of  publication  of  its  work  programme,  any  European  and 
national standardisation body shall notify the existence thereof to the other European 
and national standardisation bodies and to the Commission. 

National  standardisation  bodies  may  not  object  to  the  inclusion  of  a  subject  for 
standardisation in the work programme of a European standardisation body. 

Article 4 
 Transparency of standards 

Each  European  and  national  standardisation  body  shall  send  any  draft  national 
standard,  European  standard  and  European  standardisation  deliverable  to  other 
European  and  national  standardisation  bodies  and  the  Commission,  upon  their 
request.  

Each  European  and  national  standardisation  body  shall  promptly  reply  to,  and  take 
due  account  of,  any  comments  received  from  any  other  European  and  national 
standardisation body and the Commission with respect to any such draft.  

3. 

4. 

5. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

National standardisation bodies shall ensure the following: 

(a) 

(b) 

the publication of draft standards in such a way that parties established in other 
Member States have the opportunity to submit comments;  

allow other national standardisation bodies to be involved passively or actively 
in the planned activities by sending an observer. 

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1. 

2. 

Article 5 
 Stakeholder Participation in European standardisation 

European standardisation bodies shall ensure an appropriate representation of small 
and  medium-sized  enterprises  (hereinafter  'SME'),  consumer  organisations  and 
environmental  and  social  stakeholders,  in  particular  through  the  organisations 
referred to in Annex III, at the policy development level and at least at the following 
stages  of  the  development  of  European  standards  or  European  standardisation 
deliverables:  

(a) 

the proposal and acceptance of new work items; 

(b) 

the technical discussion on proposals; 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

the submission of comments on drafts; 

the  revision  of  existing  European  standards  or  European  standardisation 
deliverables; 

the  dissemination  of,  and  awareness-building  about,  adopted  European 
standards or European standardisation deliverables.  

European  standardisation  bodies  shall  ensure  an  appropriate  representation,  at 
technical  level,  of  undertakings,  research  centres  and  universities  and  other  legal 
entities,  in  standardisation  activities  concerning  an  emerging  area  with  significant 
policy  or  technical  innovation  implications,  if  the  legal  entities  concerned 
participated in a project that is related to that area and that is funded by the Union 
under a multiannual framework programme for activities in the area of research and 
technological development. 

Chapter III 
European standards and European standardisation deliverables 
in support of Union legislation and policies 

Article 6 
European standardisation work programme of the Commission 

1. 

2. 

The  Commission  shall  adopt  an  annual  European  standardisation  work  programme 
which  shall 
the  European  standards  and  European  standardisation 
deliverables  that  it  intends  to  request  from  the  European  standardisation  bodies  in 
accordance with Article 7. 

indicate 

The  European  standardisation  work  programme  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  shall 
specify  the  specific  objectives  and  policies  for  the  European  standards  and  other 
European  standardisation  deliverables  that  the  Commission  intends  to  request  from 
the European standardisation bodies. In cases of urgency the Commission can issue 
requests without prior indication. 

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Article 7 
 Standardisation requests to European standardisation bodies  

The Commission may request one or several European standardisation bodies to draft 
a  European  standard  or  European  standardisation  deliverable  within  a  set  deadline. 
They  shall  be  market-driven,  take  into  account  the  public  interest  and  based  on 
consensus. 

The  relevant  European  standardisation  body  shall  indicate,  within  one  month 
following its receipt, if it accepts the request referred to in paragraph 1.  

The  Commission  shall  inform  the  relevant  European  standardisation  body,  within 
three months following the receipt of the acceptance referred to in paragraph 2, about 
the  award  of  a  grant  for  drafting  a  European  standard  or  European  standardisation 
deliverable. 

The  European  standardisation  bodies  shall  inform  the  Commission  about  the 
activities undertaken for the development of the documents referred to in paragraph 
1.  

Article 8 
 Objections to harmonised standards  

When a Member State considers that a harmonised standard does not entirely satisfy 
the requirements which it aims to cover and which are set out in the relevant Union 
legislation, it shall inform the Commission thereof.  

When  the  Commission  considers  that  the  objections  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  are 
justified, it shall decide: 

(a) 

(b) 

not  to  publish  or  to  publish  with  restriction  the  references  to  the  harmonised 
standard concerned in the Official Journal of the European Union; 

to  maintain  with  restriction  or  to  withdraw  the  references  to  the  harmonised 
standard concerned in or from the Official Journal of the European Union.  

The  Commission  shall  inform  the  European  standardisation  body  concerned  of  the 
decision  referred  to  in  paragraph  2  and,  if  necessary,  request  the  revision  of  the 
harmonised standards concerned. 

The  decision  referred  to  in  paragraph  2(a)  of  this  Article  shall  be  adopted  in 
accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 18(2). 

The  decision  referred  to  in  paragraph  2(b)  of  this  Article  shall  be  adopted  in 
accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 18(3). 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

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Chapter IV 
Standards in the field of ICT 

Article 9 
 Recognition of technical specifications in the field of ICT 

Either on proposal from a public authority referred to in Directive 2004/18/EC or on its own 
initiative  the  Commission  may  decide  to  recognise  technical  specifications  which  are  not 
national, European or international standards and meet the requirements set out in Annex II, 
as ICT standards.  

Article 10 
 Use of ICT standards in public procurement 

ICT  standards  referred  to  in  Article  9  shall  constitute  common  technical  specifications 
referred to in Directives 2004/17/CE and 2004/18/CE, and Regulation (EC) No 2342/2002. 

Chapter V 
Financing of European standardisation 

Article 11 
Financing of Standardisation bodies by the Union 

1. 

The financing by the Union may be granted to the European standardisation bodies 
for the following standardisation activities: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

the  development  and 
revision  of  European  standards  or  European 
standardisation deliverables which is necessary and suitable for the support of 
policies and legislation of the Union;  

the verification of the quality, and conformity to the corresponding policies and 
legislation  of  the  Union,  of  European  standards  or  European  standardisation 
deliverables;  

the performance of preliminary or ancillary work in connection with European 
standardisation, including studies, cooperation activities, seminars, evaluations, 
comparative  analyses,  research  work,  laboratory  work,  inter-laboratory  tests, 
conformity  evaluation  work  and  measures  to  ensure  that  the  periods  for  the 
development  and 
revision  of  European  standards  or  European 
standardisation deliverables are shortened; 

the 

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

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(e) 

(f) 

(g) 

the 
translation,  where  required,  of  European  standards  or  European 
standardisation  deliverables  used  in  support  of  Union  policies  and  legislation 
into  the  official  Union  languages  other  than  the  working  languages  of  the 
European standardisation bodies or, in duly justified cases into languages other 
than the official Union languages, 

the  drawing  up  of  information  to  explain,  interpret  and  simplify  European 
standards  or  European  standardisation  deliverables,  including  the  drawing  up 
of user guides, best practice information and awareness-building actions; 

activities seeking to carry out programmes of technical assistance, cooperation 
with  third  countries  and  the  promotion  and  enhancement  of  the  European 
standards  and  European 
standardisation 
standardisation  deliverables  among  interested  parties  in  the  Union  and  at 
international level. 

system  and  of  European 

2. 

The financing by the Union may also be granted to: 

(a) 

(b) 

national  standardisation  bodies  for  the  standardisation  activities  referred  to  in 
paragraph  1,  which  they  jointly  undertake  with  the  European  standardisation 
bodies; 

other bodies which have been entrusted with carrying out the work referred to 
in  points  (a),  (c)  and  (g)  of  paragraph  1,  in  cooperation  with  the  European 
standardisation bodies. 

Article 12 
 Financing of other European Organisations by the Union  

The financing by the Union may be granted to the organisations referred to in Annex III for 
the following activities: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

the  functioning  of  these  organisations  and  of  their  activities  relating  to 
European  and  international  standardisation,  including  the  processing  of 
technical  work  and  the  provision  of  information  to  members  and  other 
interested parties; 

legal and technical expertise, including studies, in relation to assessment of the 
need  for,  and  the  development  of,  European  standards  and  European 
standardisation deliverables;  

the  participation  in  the  technical  work  with  respect  to  the  development  and 
revision  of  European  standards  and  European  standardisation  deliverables 
which is necessary and suitable for the support of policies and legislation of the 
Union; 

the verification of the quality, and conformity to the corresponding policies and 
legislation of  the Union, of European standards and European standardisation 
deliverables;  

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(e) 

the  promotion  of  European  standards  and  European  standardisation 
deliverables,  and  the  information  on,  and  use  of,  standards  among  interested 
parties and SME. 

Article 13 
 Financing arrangements 

1. 

Financing by the Union shall be provided in the form of: 

(a) 

grants  without  a  call  for  proposals,  or  contracts  after  public  procurement 
procedures, to: 

(i)  European  and  national  Standardisation  bodies  to  carry  out  the  activities 

referred to in Article 11(1); 

(ii)  bodies  identified  by  a  basic  act,  within  the  meaning  of  Article  49  of 
Regulation  (EC,  Euratom)  No  1605/2002  to  carry  out,  in  collaboration 
with the European standardisation bodies the work referred to in Article 
11(1)(c) of this Regulation; 

(b) 

grants  after  a  call  for  proposals,  or  contracts  after  public  procurement 
procedures,  to  other  bodies  referred  to  in  Article  11(2)(b)  to  carry  out,  in 
collaboration with the European standardisation bodies: 

(i) 

the  production  and  revision  of  European  standards  and  European 
standardisation deliverables referred to in Article 11(1)(a); 

(ii) 

the preliminary or ancillary work referred to in Article 11(1)(c);  

(iii) 

the activities referred to in Article 11(1)(g). 

(c) 

grants after a call for proposals to the organisations referred to in Annex III to 
carry out the activities referred to in Article 12. 

2. 

The activities of the bodies referred to in paragraph 1 may be financed by: 

(a) 

grants for actions;  

(b) 

operating grants for the European standardisation bodies and the organisations 
referred to in Annex III, in accordance with the rules set out in Regulation (EC, 
Euratom) No 1605/2002. In the event of renewal, operating grants shall not be 
automatically decreased. 

3. 

4. 

The  Commission  shall  decide  on  the  financing  arrangements  referred  to  in 
paragraphs  1  and  2,  on  the  amounts  of  the  grants  and,  where  necessary,  on  the 
maximum percentage of financing by type of activity.  

Except  in  duly  justified  cases,  grants  awarded  for  the  standardisation  activities 
referred  to  in  Article  11(1)(a)  and  (b)  shall  take  the  form  of  lump  sums  to  be  paid 
upon fulfilment of the following conditions:  

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(a) 

(b) 

European standards or European standardisation deliverables requested by the 
Commission  in  accordance  with  Article  7  are  adopted  or  revised  within  a 
period not exceeding the period specified in the request referred to in Article 7; 

SME,  consumer  organisations  and  environmental  and  social  stakeholders  are 
appropriately  represented  in  European  standardisation  work,  as  referred  to  in 
Article 5(1).  

5. 

The common cooperation objectives and the administrative and financial conditions 
relating  to  the  grants  awarded  to  European  standardisation  bodies  and  the 
organisations referred to in Annex III shall be defined in the framework partnership 
agreements  signed  by  the  Commission  and  these  bodies  and  organisations,  in 
accordance  with  Regulation  (EC,  Euratom)  No  1605/2002  and  Regulation  (EC, 
Euratom) No 2342/2002. The Commission shall inform the European Parliament and 
the Council of the conclusion of those agreements. 

Article 14 
 Management 

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  the  purposes  of 
implementing Articles 11, 12 and 13, including 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. 

Article 15 
 Protection of the financial interests of the Union 

1. 

2. 

3. 

The Commission shall ensure that, when the activities financed under this Regulation 
are implemented, the financial interests of the Union 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, if irregularities are 
detected,  by  effective,  proportionate  and  dissuasive  penalties,  in  accordance  with 
Regulations 
and 
(EC) No 1073/1999. 

(EC,  Euratom) No 2988/95, 

(Euratom,  EC) No 2185/96 

For  the  Union  activities  financed  pursuant  to  this  Regulation,  the  notion  of 
irregularity referred to in Article 1(2) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 shall 
mean  any  infringement  of  a  provision  of  Union  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  Union  or  budgets 
managed by it by an unjustified item of expenditure. 

Any  agreements  and  contracts  resulting  from  this  Regulation  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. 

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Chapter VI 
Delegated acts, committee and reporting 

Article 16 
 Delegated acts 

The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 17 
concerning amendments to the Annexes, in order to: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

update the list of European standardisation bodies set out in Annex I;  

adapt the criteria for recognising standards in the field of ICT set out in Annex 
II to technical developments; 

adapt the criteria for organisations representing SME and societal stakeholders 
set out in Annex III to further developments as regards their non-profit making 
nature and representativity.  

Article 17 
Exercise of the delegation 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

The  power  to  adopt  delegated  acts  is  conferred  on  the Commission  subject  to 
conditions laid down in this Article.  

The  delegation  of  power  referred  to  in  Article  16  shall  be  conferred  on  the 
Commission for an indeterminate period of time from 1 January 2013.  

The delegation of powers referred to in Article 16 may be revoked at any time by the 
European Parliament or by the Council. A decision of revocation shall put an end to 
the  delegation  of  the  powers  specified  in  that  decision.  It  shall  take  effect  the  day 
following  the  publication  of  the  Decision  in  the  Official  Journal  of  the  European 
Union  or  at  a  later  date  specified  therein.  It  shall  not  affect  the  validity  of  the 
delegated acts already in force.  

As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to 
the European Parliament and to the Council. 

A  delegated  act  adopted  pursuant  to  Article  16  shall  enter  into  force  only  if  no 
objection  has  been  expressed  either  by  the  European  Parliament  or  the  Council 
within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament 
and the Council or if, before expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the 
Council  have  both  informed  the  Commission  that  they  will  not  object.  That  period 
shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or the 
Council. 

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1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

Article 18 
 Committee procedure 

The  Commission  shall  be  assisted  by  a  committee.  That  committee  shall  be  a 
committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011. 

Where  reference  is  made  to  this  paragraph,  Article  4  of  Regulation  (EU)  No 
182/2011 shall apply. 

Where  reference  is  made  to  this  paragraph,  Article  5  of  Regulation  (EU)  No 
182/2011 shall apply. 

Where  the  opinion  of  the  committee  is  to  be  obtained  by  written  procedure,  that 
procedure shall be terminated without result when, within the time-limit for delivery 
of  the  opinion,  the  chair  of  the  committee  so  decides  or  a  simple  majority  of 
committee members so request. 

Article 19 
Reports 

The  European  Standardisation  Bodies  shall  send  an  annual  report  on  the 
implementation  of  this  Regulation  to  the  Commission.  It  shall  contain  detailed 
information on the following: 

(a) 

(b) 

the application of Articles 4, 5, 6, 11 and 13; 

the  representation  of  SMEs,  consumer  organisations  and  environmental  and 
social stakeholders in national standardisation bodies. 

The organisations referred to in Annex III that received financing in accordance with 
this  Regulation  shall  send  an  annual  report  on  their  activities  to  the  Commission. 
This report shall contain in particular detailed information about the membership of 
these organisations and the activities referred to in Article 12. 

By 31 December 2015 and every five years thereafter, the Commission shall present 
a  report  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  on  the  implementation  of  this 
Regulation.  This  report  shall  contain  an  evaluation  of  the  relevance  of  the 
standardisation activities receiving Union financing in the light of the requirements 
of policies and legislation of the Union.  

Chapter VII 
Final provisions 

Article 20 
Amendments 

1. 

The following provisions are deleted: 

(a) 

Article 6(1) of Directive 89/686/EEC; 

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(b) 

Article 5 of Directive 93/15/EEC;  

(c) 

Article 6(1) of Directive 94/9/EC; 

(d) 

Article 6(1) of Directive 94/25/EC; 

(e) 

(f) 

(g) 

(h) 

(i) 

(j) 

Article 6(1) of Directive 95/16/EC; 

Article 6 of Directive 97/23/EC; 

Article 14 of Directive 2004/22/EC; 

Article 8(4) of Directive 2007/23/EC ; 

Article 6 of Directive 2009/105/EC; 

Article 7 of Directive 2009/23/EC.  

2. 

Directive 98/34/EC is amended as follows: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

Paragraphs 6 to 10 of Article 1 and Articles 2, 3 and 4 are deleted; 

in Article 6(1), the words “with the representatives of the standards institutions 
referred to in Annexes I and II” are deleted; 

In Article 6(3) the first indent is deleted; 

In Article 6(4) points (a), (b) and (e) are deleted; 

In Article 11, the second sentence is replaced by the following sentence: “The 
Commission shall publish annual statistics on the notifications received in the 
Official Journal of the European Union.”. 

(f) 

Annexes I and II are deleted. 

Article 21 
National standardisation bodies 

Member States shall inform the Commission of their standardisation bodies. 

The Commission shall publish a list of national standardisation bodies and any updates to that 
list in the Official Journal of the European Union. 

Article 22 
Transitional provisions 

In  Union  acts  that  provide  for  a  presumption  of  conformity  with  essential  requirements 
through  the  application  of  harmonised  standards  adopted  in  accordance  with  Directive 
98/34/EC,  references  to  Directive  98/34/EC  shall  be  construed  as  references  to  this 
Regulation, except references to the committee set up by Article 5 of Directive 98/34/EC.  

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Where  other  Union  act  provides  for  a  procedure  for  objection  to  harmonised  standards, 
Article 8 of this Regulation shall not apply to that act. 

Article 23 
 Repeal 

Decision No 1673/2006/EC and Decision 87/95/EEC are repealed. 

References to the repealed Decisions shall be construed as references to this Regulation. 

Article 24 
 Entry into force 

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in 
the Official Journal of the European Union. 

It shall apply from 1 January 2013. 

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

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ANNEX I 

EUROPEAN STANDARDISATION BODIES: 

1. 

2. 

3. 

CEN - European Committee for Standardisation 

CENELEC - European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation 

ETSI - European Telecommunications Standards Institute 

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ANNEX II 

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE RECOGNITION OF TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS IN THE 
FIELD OF ICT 

1. 

2. 

the technical specifications have market acceptance and their implementations do not hamper 
interoperability  with  the  implementations  of  existing  European  or  international  standards. 
Market  acceptance  can  be  demonstrated  by  operational  examples  of  compliant 
implementations from different vendors. 

the  technical  specifications  were  developed  by  a  non-profit  making  organisation  which  is  a 
professional society, industry or trade association or any other membership organisation that 
within its area of expertise develops standards in the field of information and communication 
technologies  and  which  is  not  a  European,  national  or  international  standardisation  body, 
through processes which fulfil the following criteria: 

(a) 

openness:  

the technical specifications were developed on the basis of open decision-making accessible to 
all interested operators in the market or markets affected by the standard.  

(b) 

consensus:  

the  standardisation  process  was  collaborative  and  consensus  based  and  did  not  favour  any 
particular stakeholder. Consensus means a general agreement, characterised by the absence of 
sustained opposition to substantial issues by any important part of the concerned interests and 
by a process that involves seeking to take into account the views of all parties concerned and 
to reconcile any conflicting arguments. Consensus does not imply unanimity. 

(c) 

transparency:  

(i) 

all  information  concerning  technical  discussions  and  decision  making  was 
archived and identified.  

(ii) 

information  on  (new)  standardisation  activities  was  widely  announced 
through suitable and accessible means.  

(iii)  participation  of  all  interested  categories  of  interested  stakeholders  was 

sought with a view to achieving balance. 

(iv)  consideration and response were given to comments by interested parties. 

3. 

the technical specifications reflect the following requirements: 

(a)  maintenance:  Ongoing  support  and  maintenance  of  published  specifications  are 

guaranteed over a long period. 

(b) 

availability:  Specifications  are  publicly  available  for  implementation  and  use  on 
reasonable terms (including for a reasonable fee or free of charge). 

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(c) 

intellectual  property  rights  essential  to  the  implementation  of  specifications  are 
licensed  to  applicants  on  a  (fair)  reasonable  and  non-discriminatory  basis 
((F)RAND),  which  includes,  at  the  discretion  of  the  intellectual  property  right-
holder, licensing essential intellectual property without compensation. 

(d) 

relevance:  

(i) 

the specifications are effective and relevant; 

(ii) 

specifications need to respond to market needs and regulatory requirements; 

(e) 

neutrality and stability: 

(i) 

specifications whenever possible are performance oriented rather than based 
on design or descriptive characteristics; 

(ii) 

specifications  do  not  distort  the  market  or  limit  the  possibilities  for 
implementers to develop competition and innovation based upon them.  

(iii)  specifications  are  based  on  advanced  scientific  and 

technological 

developments. 

(f) 

quality:  

(i) 

the quality and level of detail are sufficient to permit the development of a 
variety  of  competing  implementations  of  interoperable  products  and 
services;  

(ii) 

standardised interfaces are not hidden or controlled by anyone other than the 
organisations that adopted the technical specifications. 

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ANNEX III 

EUROPEAN STAKEHOLDER ORGANISATIONS 

(a) 

A  European  organisation  representing  SME  in  European  standardisation  activities 
which: 

(i) 

is non-governmental and non-profit-making.  

(ii)  has as its statutory objectives and activities to represent the interests of SME in the 

standardisation process at European level;  

(iii)  has  been  mandated  by  non-profit  organisations  representing  SME  in  at  least  two 
thirds  of  the  Member  States,  to  represent  the  interests  of  SME  in  the 
standardisation process at European level. 

(b) 

A European organisation representing consumers in European standardisation activities 
which: 

(i) 

is non-governmental, non-profit-making, and independent of industry, commercial 
and business or other conflicting interests.  

(ii)  has as its statutory objectives and activities to represent consumer interests in the 

standardisation process at European level; 

(iii)  has been mandated by national non-profit consumer organisations in at least two 
thirds  of  the  Member  States,  to  represent  the  interests  of  consumers  in  the 
standardisation process at European level. 

(c) 

A  European  organisation 
standardisation activities which: 

representing  environmental 

interests 

in  European 

(i) 

is non-governmental, non-profit-making, and independent of industry, commercial 
and business or other conflicting interests.  

(ii)  has as its statutory objectives and activities to represent environmental interests in 

the standardisation process at European level;  

(iii)  has been mandated by national non-profit environmental organisations in at least 
two  thirds  of  the  Member  States,  to  represent  environmental  interests  in  the 
standardisation process at European level. 

(d) 

A  European  organisation  representing  social  interests  in  European  standardisation 
activities which: 

(i) 

is non-governmental, non-profit-making, and independent of industry, commercial 
and business or other conflicting interests.  

(ii)  has  as  its  statutory  objectives  and  activities  to  represent  social  interests  in  the 

standardisation process at European level;  

EN 

33 

   EN 

 
(iii)  has been mandated by national non-profit social organisations in at least two thirds 
of the Member States, to represent social interests in the standardisation process at 
European level. 

EN 

34 

   EN 

 
LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL STATEMENT 

1. 

FRAMEWORK OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE  

1.1.  Title of the proposal/initiative 

1.2.  Policy area(s) concerned in the ABM/ABB structure 

1.3.  Nature of the proposal/initiative 

1.4.  Objective(s) 

1.5.  Grounds for the proposal/initiative 

1.6.  Duration and financial impact 

1.7.  Management method(s) envisaged 

2. 

MANAGEMENT MEASURES 

2.1.  Monitoring and reporting rules 

2.2.  Management and control system 

2.3.  Measures to prevent fraud and irregularities 

3. 

ESTIMATED FINANCIAL IMPACT OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE  

3.1.  Heading(s)  of  the  multiannual  financial  framework  and  expenditure  budget  line(s) 
affected  

3.2.  Estimated impact on expenditure  

3.2.1. Summary of estimated impact on expenditure  

3.2.2. Estimated impact on operational appropriations  

3.2.3. Estimated impact on appropriations of an administrative nature 

3.2.4. Compatibility with the current multiannual financial framework 

3.2.5. Third-party participation in financing  

3.3.  Estimated impact on revenue

EN 

35 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL STATEMENT 

1. 

FRAMEWORK OF THE PROPOSAL  

1.1. 

Title of the proposal 

Proposal  for  a  Regulation  of  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  on  European 
Standardisation and amending Council Directives 89/686/EEC and 93/15/EEC and Directives 
94/9/EC,  94/25/EC,  95/16/EC,  97/23/EC,  98/34/EC,  2004/22/EC,  2007/23/EC,  2009/105/EC 
and 2009/23/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council. 

1.2. 

Policy area(s) concerned in the ABM/ABB structure32  

Title 2 – Enterprise - Chapter 02 03: Internal market for goods and sectoral policies 

1.3. 

Nature of the proposal  

The proposal relates to the extension of an existing action.  

It  should  be  noted  that  the  amounts  set  out  in  this  legislative  financial  statement  do  not 
prejudice  the  forthcoming  Commission  proposal  for  the  post-2013  multi-annual  financial 
framework.  Budgetary  appropriations  allocated  to  this  action  will  be  proposed  by  the 
Commission  in  the  annual  budgetary  procedure.  Consequently,  this  financial  statement  is 
limited to one year (2013).  

1.4. 

Objectives 

1.4.1.  The Commission's multiannual strategic objective(s) targeted by the proposal  

1a. Competitiveness for growth and employment 

1.4.2. 

Specific objective(s) and ABM/ABB activity(ies) concerned  

Specific objective No 1. 

To  continually  review  existing  internal  market  acquis  and  propose  new  legislative  or  non-
legislative action whenever appropriate. 

32 

ABM: Activity-Based Management – ABB: Activity-Based Budgeting. 

EN 

36 

   EN 

 
                                                 
1.4.3.  Expected result(s) and impact 

The  proposal  sets  out  the  general  framework  for  European  standardisation.  It  contains  a 
number  of  elements  without  budgetary  impacts  (e.g.  the  cooperation  between  the  European 
standardisation bodies, the national standardisation bodies and the Commission) as well as the 
legal basis for the financing of part of the standardisation activities performed by the European 
standardisation bodies CEN, CENELEC and ETSI (hereinafter referred to as “ESOs”) and the 
legal  basis  for  financial  support  to  European  organisations  representing  SMEs,  consumers, 
environmental and social interests. 

The financing of a part of the European standardisation system through the ESOs is vital for 
the  internal  market  and  should  be  continued.  Nevertheless,  the  system  should  become  more 
efficient.  On  the  one  hand,  measures  are  taken  to  increase  the  speed  of  standard-setting  for 
European standards elaborated at the request of the Commission. Financial tools will be used 
to encourage ESOs to search more actively for a consensus on contentious topics and to revise 
some  internal  processes.  On  the  other  hand,  this  proposal  contains  a  shift  to  a  radically 
simpler, faster and more stable arrangement to increase the efficiency of the financial support 
granted  by  the  EU.  A  significantly  simpler  and  less  bureaucratic  set  of  arrangements  will 
alleviate  the  administrative  burden  imposed  on  operational  services  and  beneficiaries.  This 
burden  prevents  services  from  using  their  resources  on  policy  objectives  and  on  timely 
delivery, while it creates excessive red tape for the ESOs. This proposal reforms the financing 
of  the  ESOs  by  including  the  possibility  to  shift  it  gradually  towards  a  performance-based 
system, based on the definition of agreed indicators and objectives (outputs and outcomes) and 
on a simplification of lump sums, clearly disconnected from any verification of actual costs of 
implementation.  

financial  support 

to  European  organisations 

The 
representing  SMEs,  consumers, 
environmental  and  social  interests  should  also  be  continued.  Until  now,  they  were  financed 
through various programmes, most of which expire on 31 December 2013. Consequently, it is 
appropriate  to  streamline  these  support  schemes  and  to  regroup  them  under  the  same  legal 
basis. The criteria for eligibility for these grants, the conditions for their use and the type of 
financial  contributions  are  aligned  and  adapted  to  the  specific  needs  of  the  corresponding 
group  of  stakeholders  so  that,  for  example,  operating  grants  can  be  given  to  one  European 
organisation per field of economic or societal interest.  

The principle of gradual decrease for operating grants which are not flat-rate grants pursuant 
to Article 113 of the Financial Regulation, does not apply to the ESOs, according to Decision 
No 1673/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 2006 on the 
financing of European standardisation. This exception should be maintained for the future. 

Moreover,  the  basic  philosophy  of  operating  grants  is  that  they  should  provide  temporary 
support  for  an  organisation  to  allow  it  to  achieve  financial  independence  in  the  longer  term. 
However, this degressivity would contradict the EU policy under which the position of SMEs 
and  societal  stakeholders  must  be  strengthened  in  order  to  ensure  the  inclusiveness  of  the 
European  standardisation  system.  In  the  likely  event  that  more  European  standards  will  be 
developed  in  the  future,  the  workload  of  organisations  representing  SMEs  and  societal 
stakeholders in the European standardisation system will increase. These organisations have a 
permanent  role  which  is  essential  for  EU  activities  and  policies  because  of  the  context  in 

EN 

37 

   EN 

 
which  they  operate  and  their  statutory  objectives.  It  is  essential  for  the  development  of 
European  standardisation  to  continue  fostering  and  encouraging  the  active  participation  of 
European organisations representing SME, consumers and environmental and social interests. 
Such organisations pursue an aim of general European interest and constitute, by virtue of the 
specific  mandate  that  national  non-profit  organisations  have  given  them  or  through  their 
exclusive  representation  of  the  interests  of  SME  and  societal  stakeholders,  a  European 
network representing non-profit bodies active in the Member States and promoting principles 
and  policies  consistent  with  the  objectives  of  the  Treaties.  Because  of  the  context  in  which 
they  operate  and  their  statutory  objectives,  European  organisations  representing  SME, 
consumers  and  environmental  and  social  interests  in  European  standardisation  have  a 
permanent  role  which  is  essential  for  Union  activities  and  policies.  In  addition,  the 
development of a standard takes between 1 to 3 years which requires a long-term commitment 
to  the  technical  process.  On-going  and  active  participation  in  a  technical  committee  or 
working  group  requires  a  very  significant  commitment  of  time  over  a  longer  period. 
Therefore, it is necessary to extend the exception to the degressivity principle to the selected 
European organisations representing SMEs, consumers, environmental and social interests. 

1.4.4. 

Indicators of results and impact  

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

The  number  of  European  standards  adopted  by  the  ESOs  following  a  request  by  the 
Commission; 

The  time  between  the  acceptance,  by  the  ESOs,  of  the  request  to  draft  a  European 
standard and the formal adoption of the standard; 

The  actual  participation  rate  of  the  European  organisations  representing  SMEs, 
consumers, environmental and social interests in the European standardisation process; 

The  actual  changes  to  the  standardisation  structures  and  governance  and  their  impact 
on the number of adopted standards, the speed of standard-setting and the participation 
of  the  European  organisations  representing  SMEs,  consumers,  environmental  and 
social interests in the European standardisation process. 

1.5. 

Grounds for the proposal  

1.5.1.  Requirement(s) to be met in the short or long term  

The requirements to be met by the proposal can be summarised as follows; 

(1) 

European standardisation is an important and effective tool to support European policy 
and  legislation.  It  has  and  will  have  a  significant  impact  in  underpinning  the  single 
market of goods and services and preventing the  creation  of barriers trade within the 
EU. Therefore, the adoption of European standards by the ESOs should continue and 
should  be  co-financed  by  the  EU.  In  addition,  the  legal  basis  should  not  only  cover 
standards on products but also standards on services. 

(2) 

Standardisation  within  the  EU  makes  a  significant  contribution  to  the  European 
economy. The use of standards is a powerful strategic tool for businesses to increase 
their competitiveness. It is therefore important that standards keep pace with ever faster 

EN 

38 

   EN 

 
(3) 

(4) 

product  development  cycles  and  that  the  speed  of  European  standard-setting  is 
improved. 

Standards will affect more and more groups in European society, including businesses 
of  all  sorts  and  many  individual  citizens.  A  standard  is  the  result  of  a  consensus 
reached  by  those  participating  in  its  development.  A  sufficiently  wide  range  of 
participants  is  essential  for  a  standard  to  be  accepted  both  by  businesses  and 
consumers.  The  proposal  should  ensure  that  the  European  standardisation  system 
therefore  becomes  as  inclusive  as  possible,  with  all  partners  committed  to  a  system 
rooted in the core values of openness, transparency and scientific solidity, and through 
a process of continuous improvement of standardisation structures and governance. 

Standards  need  to  be  available  to  assure  the  interoperability  between  services  and 
applications  in  the  field  of  information  and  communications  technologies  so  that 
Europe can reap the full benefits of ICT. The most relevant ICT standards developed 
by specialised fora and consortia should play a more prominent role in domains where 
the ESOs are not active, where ESO standards have not gained market uptake or where 
these  standards  have  become  obsolete.  Consequently,  these  standards  should  be 
formally  recognised  so  that  they  can  be  used  by  public  authorities  for  public 
procurement purposes. 

1.5.2.  Added value of EU involvement 

European  standards  play  a  very  important  part  in  the  functioning  of  the  internal  market  for 
industrial products. European standards replace national and often conflicting standards which, 
as  such,  may  create  technical  impediments  to  a  national  market.  European  standards  can  be 
divided into 2 categories: 

a) European standards developed at the request of the Commission, on the basis of a so-called 
“mandate” in which the ESOs are requested to draw up technical specifications of a normative 
nature that meet the requirements set out in the mandate. These standards can be subdivided 
into 2 subcategories: 

- European harmonised standards which ensure that products meet the essential requirements 
set out in EU legislation. Compliance with a European “harmonised” standard guarantees the 
required level of safety of products. However, use of harmonised standards is still voluntary 
and a manufacturer may use any other technical solution which demonstrates that his product 
meets  the  essential  requirements.  The  percentage  of  European  harmonised  standards  has 
increased in the last two decades from 3.55% to 20% in 2009.  

- Other European standards to support European policies. 

b)  The  remaining  European  standards  are  adopted outside EU legislation on the initiative of 
undertakings, NSBs or other stakeholders, or at the request of the Commission.  

European standards and especially harmonised standards are cornerstones for the functioning 
of  the  internal  market  for  goods.  Yet,  elaborating  standards  is  a  labour-intensive  and  time-
consuming activity done by national experts. Therefore, Decision No 1673/2006/EC sets out 
the legal basis for the financial support to the Central Secretariats of European standardisation 

EN 

39 

   EN 

 
bodies  with  the  aim  of  improving  the  quality  of  harmonised  standards  and  promoting 
European  standardisation  at  international  level.  The  European  Commission  and  EFTA 
establish Framework Partnership Agreements (FPAs) with each ESO, under which proposals 
for  financing  can  be  addressed  to  the  Commission.  The  FPAs  fix  the  administrative  and 
financial  rules  concerning  the  financing  of  standardisation  activities  and  set  out  the  general 
context  and  terms  under  which  financial  support  can  be  allocated.  This  proposal  replaces 
Decision No 1673/2006/EC. 

1.5.3.  Lessons learned from similar experiences in the past 

This proposal takes into account the evaluations that were made in the context of Decision No 
1673/2006/EC and to which the impact assessment refers. 

1.5.4.  Coherence and possible synergy with other relevant instruments 

This proposal is entirely coherent with the other relevant instruments, i.e. all legislative acts 
set out in Annex 4 of the accompanying impact assessment.  

1.6. 

Duration and financial impact  

Proposal of unlimited duration 

1.7.  Management mode(s) envisaged33  

Centralised direct management by the Commission 

2. 

MANAGEMENT MEASURES  

2.1.  Monitoring and reporting rules  

The common cooperation objectives and the administrative and financial conditions relating to 
the grants awarded to European standardisation bodies and the other organisations referred to 
in the proposal will be defined in the framework partnership agreements that will be signed by 
the  Commission  and  these  bodies  and  organisations,  in  accordance  with  the  Financial 
Regulation  and  Regulation  (EC,  Euratom)  No  2342/2002.  These  agreements  as  well  as  the 
grant agreements will specify the monitoring and reporting rules. 

In  addition,  the  proposal  obliges  the  European  standardisation  bodies  and  the  other 
organisations  referred  to  in  the  proposal  to  submit  annual  reports  to  the  Commission  on  the 
implementation of their obligations.  

33 

Details  of  management  modes  and  references  to  the  Financial  Regulation  may  be  found  on  the  BudgWeb  site: 
http://www.cc.cec/budg/man/budgmanag/budgmanag_en.html 

EN 

40 

   EN 

 
                                                 
2.2.  Management and control system  

2.2.1.  Risk(s) identified  

The European standardisation bodies have a solid financial basis. The calls for proposals for 
the  other  organisations  referred  to  in  the  proposal  will  contain  financial  selection  criteria  in 
order to prevent any financial risks. Consequently, no financial risks could be identified. 

2.2.2.  Control method(s) envisaged  

The control methods envisaged are laid down in the Financial Regulation and Regulation (EC, 
Euratom) No 2342/2002. They will be specified in greater detail in the framework partnership 
agreements and the grant agreements that will be signed by the Commission and the European 
standardisation  bodies  and  the  other  organisations  referred  to  in  the  proposal.  The  proposal 
also expressly specifies that any agreements and contracts resulting from the Regulation must 
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. 

2.3.  Measures to prevent fraud and irregularities  

This proposal contains a provision according to which the Commission must ensure that the 
financial interests of the Union 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,  if  irregularities  are  detected,  by  effective,  proportionate  and 
dissuasive  penalties,  in  accordance  with  Regulations  (EC,  Euratom)  No  2988/95,  (Euratom, 
EC) No 2185/96 and (EC) No 1073/1999.  

EN 

41 

   EN 

 
3. 

3.1. 

ESTIMATED FINANCIAL IMPACT OF THE PROPOSAL  

Heading(s)  of  the  multiannual  financial  framework  and  expenditure  budget  line(s) 
affected  

•  Existing expenditure budget lines  

Heading of 
multiannual 
financial 
framework 

1a. 
Competitiveness 
for  growth  and 
employment 

Budget line 

Type of  
expenditure

Contribution  

DA/NDA 
(34) 

from 
EFTA35 
countries 

from 
candidate 
countries36 

from third 
countries 

within the meaning 
of Article 18(1)(aa) 
of the Financial 
Regulation  

Article 02 03 04 — Standardisation and 
approximation of legislation 

DA 

YES 

NO 

NO 

NO 

•  New budget lines requested: Article 02 03 04 should be divided into two separate articles:  

–  Article  02  03  04  01  should  replace  the  former  Article  02  03  04  and  should  contain  the 
credits  earmarked  to  it,  covering  the  financial  support  to  the  standardisation  activities  of 
CEN, CENELEC and ETSI; 

–  Article 02 03 04 02 will consist of the following credits which were previously committed 
and  paid  under  articles  02.02.01,  17.02.02.00  and  07.03.07  for  activities  related  to 
standardisation: 2,1 EUR million from budget line 02.02.01, 1,4 EUR million from budget 
line 17.02.02.00 and 0,2 EUR million from budget line 07.03.07 will be transferred to the 
new budget line 02 03 04 02. 

–  Articles 02.02.01, 17.02.02.00 and 07.03.07 will be decreased in the financial programming 
by the above amounts corresponding to standardisation activities.The latter articles will be 
decreased by the amounts corresponding to standardisation activities. 

–  The credits for grants to other organisations representing societal stakeholders in the field 

of standardisation are included in other budgetary articles (e.g. 04.03.03.02).  

34 
35 
36 

DA= Differentiated appropriations / DNA= Non-Differentiated Appropriations 
EFTA: European Free Trade Association.  
Candidate countries and, where applicable, potential candidate countries from the Western Balkans. 

EN 

42 

   EN 

 
                                                 
Heading of 
multiannual 
financial 
framework 

Budget line 

Type of 
expenditure

Contribution  

Diff./non-
diff. 

from 
EFTA 
countries 

from 
candidate 
countries 

from third 
countries 

within the meaning 
of Article 18(1)(aa) 
of the Financial 
Regulation  

1a. 
Competitiveness 
for  growth  and 
employment 

Article  02  03  04  01  —  Support  to 
standardisation  activities  performed  by 
CEN, CENELEC and ETSI 

1a. 
Competitiveness 
for  growth  and 
employment 

Article  02  03  04  02  —  Support  to 
organisations  representing  SMEs  and 
societal  stakeholders  in  standardisation 
activities  

DA 

YES 

NO 

NO 

NO 

DA 

YES 

NO 

NO 

NO 

EN 

43 

   EN 

 
3.2. 

Estimated impact on expenditure37 

3.2.1. 

Summary of estimated impact on expenditure  

Heading of multiannual financial framework:  

Number 

1a. Competitiveness for growth and employment 

EUR million (to 3 decimal places) 

Year 
N38 

Year 
N+1 

Year 
N+2 

Year 
N+3 

Years 
N+4 to 6 

TOTAL 

(cid:121) Operational appropriations  

Article  02  03  04  01  —  Support 
to 
standardisation  activities  performed  by  CEN, 
CENELEC and ETSI 

to 
Article  02  03  04  02  —  Support 
organisations  representing  SMEs  and  societal 
stakeholders in standardisation activities  

of 
Appropriations 
 from the envelop of specific programs39  

administrative 

an 

Commitments 

(1) 

23.5 

-- 

Payments 

(2) 

Commitments 

(1a) 

Payments 

(2a) 

nature 

financed 

9 

3.7 

3.7 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

Article 02 01 04 02 -  

(3) 

0.2 

-- 

-- 

For  information  purposes  only,  the  following 
lines will be decreased (these amount are not 
reflected in the totals): 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

37 
38 
39 

EN 

The amounts set out in the tables in section 3.2 should be adapted to inflation and eventually should be adjusted accordingly. 
Year N is the year in which implementation of the proposal is likely to start, namely 2013.  
Technical and/or administrative assistance and expenditure in support of the implementation of EU programmes and/or actions (former "BA" lines), indirect research, direct 
research. 

44 

E

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Article 02.02.01(heading 1a) 

Article 17.02.02.00 (heading 3 b) 

Article 07.03.07 (heading 2) 

TOTAL appropriations  
under HEADING 1.a  
of the multiannual financial framework 

Commitments 

Payments 

Commitments 

Payments 

Commitments 

Payments 

Commitments 

Payments 

=1+1a 
+3 

=2+2a 

+3 

-2.1 

-2.1 

-1.4 

-1.4 

-0.2 

-0.2 

27.4 

12.9 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

Heading of multiannual financial 
framework:  

5 

"Administrative expenditure" 

Year 
N 

Year 
N+1 

Year 
N+2 

Year 
N+3 

Years 
N+4 to 6 

TOTAL 

EUR million (to 3 decimal places) 

DG: ENTR, SANCO, MARKT, MOVE, 
ENV and INFSO 

(cid:121) Human resources  
(cid:121) Other administrative expenditure  

TOTAL 

Appropriations  

EN 

3.5 

0.3 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

45 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

E

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
TOTAL appropriations 
under HEADING 5 
of the multiannual financial framework  

(Total 
= Total payments) 

commitments 

3.8 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

2013 

2014 

2015 

2016 

2017-2020 

TOTAL 

EUR million (to 3 decimal places) 

TOTAL appropriations  
under HEADINGS 1 to 5 
of the multiannual financial framework  

Commitments 

Payments 

3.8 

3.8 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

EN 

46 

E

 
  
 
 
 
 
3.2.2.  Estimated impact on operational appropriations  

The proposal requires the use of operational appropriations, as explained below: 

Year 
N 

Year 
N+1 

Year 
N+2 

Year 
N+3 

OUTPUTS 

Commitment appropriations in EUR million (to 3 decimal places) 

Years 
N+4 to 6 

TOTAL 

r
e
b
m
u
N

s
t
u
p
t
u
o

f
o

Cost 

r
e
b
m
u
N

s
t
u
p
t
u
o

f
o

Cost 

r
e
b
m
u
N

s
t
u
p
t
u
o

f
o

Cost 

r
e
b
m
u
N

s
t
u
p
t
u
o

f
o

Cost 

r
e
b
m
u
N

s
t
u
p
t
u
o

f
o

Cost 

r
e
b
m
u
N

s
t
u
p
t
u
o

f
o

Cost 

r
e
b
m
u
N

s
t
u
p
t
u
o

f
o

Cost 

Total 
numb
er of 
outpu
ts 

Total  
cost 

Indicate 
objectives and 
outputs  

(cid:216) 

Type 
of 
outpu
t40 

Avera
ge 
cost  
of the 
outpu
t 

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE No 1: To 
continually review existing internal 
market acquis and propose new 
legislative or non-legislative action 
whenever appropriate. 

Central 
secretariat of 
ESOs 

Translation of 
standards

Standardisation 
work (including 
ICT) 

(A) 

3.35 

(B) 

0.55 

3 

2 

10 

1.1 

(C) 

0.4 

25 

11 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

40 

EN 

Outputs  are  products  and  services  to  be  supplied  (e.g.:  number  of  student  exchanges  financed,  number  of  km  of  roads  built,  etc.).  (A)=  administrative  support,  (B)= 
translation services, (C)= actual standardisation work, (D)= promotion and publicity, including conferences and (E)= other intellectual services 

47 

E

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Promotion of 
European 
standards

Audits, 
evaluations, and 
specific projects 

Studies and 
technical 
assistance

Promotion and 
development of 
Eurocodes 

Support to 
organisations 
representing 
SMEs 

Support to 
organisations 
representing 
societal 
stakeholders  

(D) 

0.1 

1 

0.1 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

(E) 

0.8 

1 

0.8 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

(D) 
(E) 

(D) 
(E) 

(A) 
to 
(E) 

(A) 
to 
(E) 

1.2 

0 

0 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

0.5 

1 

0.5 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

2.0 

1 

2.0 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

0.75 

2 

1.5 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

Sub-total for specific objective N°1 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

TOTAL COST 

36 

27 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

EN 

48 

E

 
  
 
 
 
3.2.3.  Estimated impact on appropriations of an administrative nature 

3.2.3.1.  Summary  

The proposal requires the use of administrative appropriations, as explained below: 

EUR million (to 3 decimal places) 

Year 
N 

Year 
N+1 

Year 
N+2 

Year 
N+3 

Years 
N+4 to 6 

TOTAL 

HEADING 5 
of the multiannual 
financial framework 

Human resources  

Other administrative 
expenditure  

Subtotal HEADING 5 
of the multiannual 
financial framework  

Outside HEADING 541 
of the multiannual 
financial framework  

Human resources  

Other expenditure  
of an administrative 
nature 

Subtotal  
outside HEADING 5 
of the multiannual 
financial framework  

3.5 

0.3 

3.8 

0 

0.2 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

0.2 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

TOTAL 

4 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

--

41 

Technical  and/or  administrative  assistance  and  expenditure  in  support  of  the  implementation  of  EU 
programmes and/or actions (former "BA" lines), indirect research, direct research. 

EN 

49 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
3.2.3.2.   Estimated requirements of human resources  

The proposal requires the use of human resources, as explained below: 

Estimate to be expressed in full amounts (or at most to one decimal place) 

Year 
N 

Year 
N+1 

Year 
N+2 

Year 
N+3 

Years 
N+4 to 6 

(cid:121) Establishment plan posts (officials and temporary agents) 

XX 01 01 01 (Headquarters and Commission’s 
Representation Offices) 

XX 01 01 02 (Delegations) 

XX 01 05 01 (Indirect research) 

10 01 05 01 (Direct research) 

2.9 

0 

0 

0 

 (cid:121) External personnel (in Full Time Equivalent unit: FTE)42 

XX 01 02 01 (CA, INT, SNE from the "global 
envelope") 

XX 01 02 02 (CA, INT, JED, LA and SNE in the 
delegations) 

XX 01 05 02 (CA, INT, SNE - Indirect research) 

10 01 05 02 (CA, INT, SNE - Direct research) 

Other budget lines (specify) 

TOTAL 

0.6 

0 

0 

0 

0 

7 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

XX is the policy area or budget title concerned. 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

The  human  resources  required  will  be  met  by  staff  from  the  DG  who  are  already 
assigned to management of the action and/or have been  redeployed within the DG, 
together  if  necessary  with  any  additional  allocation  which  may  be  granted  to  the 
managing  DG  under  the  annual  allocation  procedure  and  in  the  light  of  budgetary 
constraints. 

Description of tasks to be carried out: 

Officials and temporary agents 

Implementation  of  the  Regulation  (i.e.  manage  standardisation  activities  and  their 
financing,  including  on  ICT,  and  manage  the  grants  to  organisations  representing 
SMEs and societal stakeholders) 

External personnel 

Seconded  National  Experts  will  contribute  to  the  follow-up  of  standardisation 
activities, including on ICT. Contract agents will mainly perform executive tasks. 

42 

CA= Contract Agent; INT= agency staff ("Intérimaire"); JED= "Jeune Expert en Délégation" (Young 
Experts in Delegations); LA= Local Agent; SNE= Seconded National Expert;  

EN 

50 

   EN 

 
 
                                                 
3.2.4.  Compatibility with the current multiannual financial framework  

The  proposal  is  compatible  with  the  current  multiannual  financial  framework.  Some  credits 
might be moved from other budgetary titles to title 2 (Enterprise) as set out in section 3.1. 

3.2.5.  Third-party contributions  

The proposal provides for the co-financing estimated below: 

Appropriations in EUR million (to 3 decimal places) 

Year 
N 

Year 
N+1 

Year 
N+2 

Year 
N+3 

Years 
N+4 to 6 

Total 

EFTA 

EFTA 

EFTA 

EFTA 

EFTA 

EFTA 

EFTA 

EFTA 

0.7 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

Specify  the  co-financing 
body  

TOTAL appropriations 
cofinanced  

3.3. 

Estimated impact on revenue  

The proposal has no financial impact on revenue. 

EN 

51 

   EN