COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE A strategic vision for European standards: Moving forward to enhance and accelerate the sustainable growth of the European economy by 2020  (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2011-06-01
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: economic recession, economic stabilisation, financial policy, industrial policy, monetary crisis, single market

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 1.6.2011 
COM(2011) 311 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE 

A strategic vision for European standards: Moving forward to enhance and accelerate 
the sustainable growth of the European economy by 2020 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

 
 
 
 
  
 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE 

A strategic vision for European standards: Moving forward to enhance and accelerate 
the sustainable growth of the European economy by 2020 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

1. 

A STRATEGIC VISION FOR STANDARDS IN EUROPE 

1.1. 

European standards 

Standards are voluntary documents that define technical or quality requirements with 
which  current  or  future  products,  production  processes,  services  or  methods  may 
comply.  Standards  result  from  voluntary  cooperation  between  industry,  public 
authorities  and  other  interested  parties  collaborating  within  a  system  founded  on 
openness, transparency and consensus.  

Standards  are  trade-enhancing  because  of  their  cost-decreasing  effect  and  the 
reduction  of  information  asymmetries  between  the  supply  and  the  demand  sides, 
especially in the case of cross-border transactions. Several econometric studies have 
established a clear connection at a macroeconomic level between standardisation 
in  the  economy,  productivity  growth,  trade  and  overall  economic  growth.  The 
economic  benefit  of  standardisation  can  vary  significantly  between  different  EU 
countries.  Studies  show  that  the  impact  of  standards  on  annual  GDP  growth  could 
rage from 0.3 to 1 percentage point. For Germany this impact is estimated at 1% of 
the gross national product, for France at 0.8% and for United Kingdom only at 0.3%. 

One  of  the  unique  aspects  of  the  voluntary  cooperation  between  industry,  public 
authorities and other interested parties in the EU is the growing number of European 
standards  which  are  adopted  by  the  European  standardisation  bodies  (ESOs)1  and 
which apply throughout the EU. The ESOs are independent organisations governed 
by  private  law.  For  industry,  European  standards  summarise  best  practice  in  a 
specific  area,  because  they  encapsulate  the  collective  expertise  of  the  participating 
actors.  The  large  majority  of  European  standards  remain  industry–initiated, 
indicating that these instruments mainly respond to the needs of enterprises and are 
mainly privately driven. 

European standardisation was extremely successful and one of the driving factors 
of the creation of the internal market for goods. European standards replace national 
and often conflicting standards which, as such, may create technical impediments to 

1 

The  ESOs  are:  CEN  (The  European  Committee  for  Standardisation),  CENELEC  (The  European 
Committee  for  Electrotechnical  Standardisation)  and  ETSI  (The  European  Telecommunications 
Standards Institute). 

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a  national  market.  Many  European  standards  are  developed  by  the  ESOs  at  the 
request  of  the  Commission.  A  large  proportion  of  these  standards  adopted  by  the 
ESOs at the request of the Commission are so-called "harmonised standards" which 
ensure  that  products  meet  the  essential  requirements  set  out  in  EU  harmonisation 
legislation. Compliance with a European harmonised standard guarantees compliance 
with  the  applicable  requirements,  including  safety  requirements,  set  out  in  the 
relevant EU harmonisation legislation. 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  standards  that  are  harmonised  standards  has  increased  in  the  last  two 
decades from 3.55% to 20% in 2009. 

European  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 
interoperability of networks and systems, a proper functioning of the Single market, 
a  high  level  of  consumer  and  environmental  protection,  and  more  innovation  and 
social inclusion. 

Consumer  safety  is  very  important  element  in  many  European  standards.  The 
safety  of  the  consumer  is  usually  a  primary  concern  for  drafting  and  adopting  a 
European standard. Conversely, when a safety issue is discovered when the product 
is  already  put  on  the  market  (for  example  as  a  result  of  a  market  surveillance 
inspection),  this  problem  should  be  taken  into  account  during  the  preparation  of  a 
new  standard  or  the  revision  of  an  existing  standard.  As  a  consequence,  there  is  a 
close  link  between  standardisation,  product  safety  and  market  surveillance,  which 
will  be  strengthened  in  the  future  revision  of  the  legislative  framework  on  market 
surveillance. 

European and other 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.  

1.2.  …in a fast changing global landscape 

But the world has changed. Standards used to be confined to product standards but 
are  evolving  more  and  more  to  process  and  production  standards  covering  a  broad 
range of subjects. 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  of  disabled  and 
elderly people to tackling climate change and the resource efficiency challenge. 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.  

It  is  especially  vital  that  in  areas  where  Europe  is  the  driving  innovation  force  in 
developing new types of tradable goods, services and technologies – for example in 

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areas such as electric vehicles, security, energy efficiency and smart grids – that the 
creation of the European standard be carried out rapidly with the aim of asserting it 
as  an  international  standard.  This  would  maximise  first  mover  advantage  and 
increase the competitiveness of European industry. In such cases, though the role of 
ESOs  is  vital,  any  delays  in  delivering  the  standard  will  lead  to  prompt  legislative 
action by the Commission. 

It 

for 

is  essential 

the  European  economy 

The European Council of 4 February 2011 confirmed that standardisation is a crucial 
framework  condition  to  boost  private  investment  in  innovative  goods  and  services 
and  that  standardisation  processes  should  be  accelerated,  simplified  and 
modernised. 
that  European 
standardisation  further  adapts  to  the  fast  changing  global  landscape  and 
economic environment. The rapid shortening of innovation cycles, the convergence 
of  technologies,  fierce  global  competition  and  emergence  of  new  global  players 
could  raise  concerns  about  the  sustainability  of  European  standardisation  system  in 
adapting to these challenges. In the new global era, the policy role of standardisation 
process cannot be limited to supporting European legislation. Today, standardisation 
is  increasingly  happening  at  global  level  in  many  areas,  often,  like  in  the  field  of 
ICT, through dynamic and fast-paced fora and consortia. In this context, the strategic 
use  of  standards  on  the  one  hand  and  European  standardisation  on  the  other,  are 
strategic  assets  for  securing  EU  competitiveness  and  a  key  tool  for  knowledge 
dissemination, 
ideas  and  promotion  of 
innovation.  Yet,  European  standards  can  complement  but  not  substitute  European 
legislation,  or  prevent  the  European  legislator  from  addressing  major  issues  in  the 
EU. 

interoperability,  validation  of  novel 

European standardisation will expand to new areas and will cover new subjects. In a 
fast  changing  and  globalising  economic  context,  standards  will  more  than  ever 
become  an  invaluable  tool  for  international  trade.  However,  the  success  of  the 
implementation  of  the  European  standards  will  depend  on  the  legitimacy  and 
the  efficiency  of  their  adoption  processes.  The  inclusivity  and  the  speed  of  the 
process must be urgently improved if we want European standards to play a global 
role.  

Standardisation  will  play  an  important  part  in  supporting  the  Europe  2020 
Strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, as set out in several flagship 
initiatives.  Innovation  Union2  underlines  that  a  dynamic  and  responsive  European 
standardisation  system  is  needed  to  support  innovation.  The  Industrial  Policy3 
flagship stresses the need for European standardisation to be highly responsive in a 
rapidly  changing  world,  for  it  to  support  European  competitiveness  in  the  global 
market  and  for  it  to  meet  the  needs  of  both  industry  and  public  authorities.  The 
Digital Agenda for Europe4 highlights the importance of ICT standards in delivering 
interoperability  between  devices,  applications,  data  repositories,  services  and 
networks.  And  the  Flagship  for  a  Resource  Efficient  Europe5  emphasizes  the 
important role of standards in encouraging eco-innovation. Standardisation also plays 

2 
3 
4 
5 

COM(2010) 546. 
COM(2010) 614. 
COM(2010) 245. 
COM(2011)21. 

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a role in policy measures such as the "Single Market Act"6, the Communication on 
Trade, Growth and World Affairs7 and the Disability Strategy 2010-20208. European 
standardisation also features in the review of the "Small Business Act" for Europe9. 
The Communication on "a new response to a changing Neighbourhood10" also refers 
to  the  need  for  partner  countries  to  implement  commitments  on  taking  over  EU 
standards  in  the  framework  of  the  negotiations  with  respect  to  Deep  and 
Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements (DCFTA). 

A  European  standardisation  system  supporting the Europe 2020 Strategy for smart, 
sustainable  and  inclusive  growth  will  need  to  meet  the  following  strategic 
objectives: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

Standards  need  to  be  quickly  available  –  especially  but  not  only  –  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 the ESOs 
or  by  global  ICT  Fora  and  Consortia,  provided  that  these  standards  comply 
with a set of quality criteria, should play a more prominent role in fulfilling 
public policy objectives and societal needs. It should become possible to use 
these  standards  in  public  procurement,  or  to  facilitate  policy  making  and 
legislation. 

Standardisation  within 
to  make  a  significant 
the  EU  will  continue 
contribution  to  the  European  economy.  European  standards  are  powerful 
strategic  tools  for  businesses  to  increase  their  competitiveness.  Since 
European standards are used above all by businesses as a tool to facilitate the 
market  penetration  of  innovative  goods  and  reducing  production  costs, 
standards must keep pace with ever faster product development cycles.  

European  standards  developed  by  the  European  standardisation  bodies 
will need to respond to an increasing demand, as a tool to support many 
European  policies  and  legislation.  European  standardisation  has  and  will 
have  a  significant  impact  in  underpinning  the  single  market  of  goods  and 
services and preventing the creation of trade barriers within the EU. The use 
of standards as a policy tool is made possible by a longstanding tradition of 
strong  partnership  between  voluntary  experts  from  industry,  EU  public 
authorities, the ESOs the National Standardisation  Bodies  (NSBs)  and  other 
standard  developing  organisations.  The  ESOs  are  responsible  for  managing 
the development and the adoption of European standards in consultation with 
their members11.  

6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 

COM(2011) 206. 
COM(2010) 612. 
COM(2010) 636. 
COM(2011) 78. 
COM(2011) 303. 
CEN and CENELEC's membership consists of the NSBs, whereas ETSI uses a ‘mixed’ model, in which 
members  from  industry  participate  directly  in  standards  development,  with  the  National  Committees 
involved in the final stages of agreeing a European standard.  

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(4) 

European  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  European 
standardisation  system  must  therefore  become  as  inclusive  as  possible, 
with all partners committed to a system rooted in the core values of openness, 
transparency  and  scientific  solidity.  The  continuous 
improvement  of 
standardisation  structures  and  governance  will  also  require  effective  and 
closer  collaboration  between  all  partners,  above  all  between  the  European 
standardisation bodies and between national standardisation bodies on the one 
hand, and the public authorities and legislators on the other. 

(5) 

Standards have an important role to play in supporting the competitiveness 
of  European  businesses  in  the  global  market,  allowing  them  to  access 
foreign markets and establish business partnerships around the globe. 

This  strategy  sets  out  a  package  of  measures,  both  legislative  and  non-legislative. 
The  legislative  measures  are  contained  in  the  accompanying  proposal  for  a 
Regulation  on  standardisation,  which  updates  and  combines  existing  European 
legislation and is accompanied by an Impact Assessment12. Non-legislative measures 
include  actions  to  be  taken  by  the  Commission  and  a  series  of  recommendations 
addressed to other actors in the European standardisation system.  

two  public  consultations, 

These  measures  all  draw  on  the  results  of  a  wide-ranging  review  of  the  European 
standardisation  system,  carried  out  from  2008-2010,  including  the  EXPRESS 
Report13, 
the  White  Paper  on  Modernising  ICT 
standardisation in the EU14 and a range of in-depth studies. It is also informed by the 
European  Parliament's  October  2010 
future  of  European 
standardisation15, which emphasises building on the strengths and core values of the 
existing system, improving its deficiencies and striking the right balance between the 
European, national and international dimensions.  

report  on 

the 

The  importance  of  European  standardisation  for  the  European  economy  and  the 
competitiveness of European enterprises implies that it will be necessary, in a longer 
term  perspective,  to  assess  on  a  more  regular  basis  if  the  European  standardisation 
system  is  sufficiently  capable  to  adapt  to  the  quickly  evolving  environment  and  to 
contribute to Europe’s strategic internal and external objectives, in particular in the 
field  of  industrial  policy,  innovation  and  technological  development.  The  first 
assessment will be launched in 2013 at the latest. 

12 

13 

14 
15 

The  impact  assessment  also  evaluates  the  relevance  of  the  standardisation  activities  receiving  EU 
financing  in  the  light  of  the  requirements  of  EU  policies  and  legislation,  as  set  out  in  Article  6(2)  of 
Decision No 1673/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 2006 on the 
financing of European standardisation. 
Expert Panel for the Review of the European Standardisation System (EXPRESS), "Standardisation for 
a competitive and innovative Europe: a vision for 2020", Report for the European Commission, 2010. 
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/european-
standards/files/express/exp_384_express_report_final_distrib_en.pdf  
COM(2009)324 of 3.7.2009. 
A7-0276/2010 

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2. 

EUROPEAN  STANDARDISATION 
INNOVATION 

IN  SUPPORT  OF 

INDUSTRIAL  POLICY  AND 

In an era of increasing global competition, an ageing European population and fiscal 
restraint,  European  competitiveness  depends  on  our  ability  to  foster  innovation  in 
products,  services  and  processes.  For  this  reason  innovation  has  been  placed  at  the 
heart  of  the  Europe  2020  strategy  and  the  Commission  flagship  initiatives  on 
"Industrial Policy"16 and "Innovation Union"17.  

The  benefits  of  standards  for  the  European  industry  are  tremendous.  Standards 
lead  to  cost  reduction  or  cost  savings  derived  mainly  from  economies  of  scale,  the 
possibility to anticipate technical requirements, the reduction of transaction costs and 
the  possibility  to  access  standardised  components.  According  to  the  World  Bank18, 
one  of  the  most  important  economic  benefits  of  standards  is  that  they  increase 
productive and innovative efficiency. They allow suppliers to achieve lower per-unit 
costs by producing large homogeneous batches. In addition, producers gain skills and 
experience  by  focusing  on  fewer  product  variations.  Another  benefit  is  improved 
market  access  as  a  result  of  increased  competitiveness  due  to  increased  efficiency, 
reduced trading costs, simplified contractual agreements (because the characteristics 
and functionalities of the product are clear as a result of the standards) and increased 
quality. Standards also lead to better relations with suppliers and clients derived from 
increased  safety  for  consumers,  increased  trust,  reduced  liability  risk  and  wider 
choice  of  suppliers  for  the  same  reasons  mentioned  above.  Minimum  safety 
standards are the most straightforward example of standards used to solve imperfect 
information  problems.  European  standards  have  an  immense  value  for  the 
competitiveness  of  the  enterprises  working  in  the  fields  of  transport,  machinery, 
electro-technical products and other manufacturing industries, as well as in the field 
of telecommunications.  

Well designed and timely European standards can support innovation in a number of 
ways.  Existing  standards  can  codify  and  spread  the  state  of  the  art  in  various 
technologies.  They  can  also  facilitate  the  introduction  of  innovative  products  by 
providing  interoperability  between  new  and  existing  products,  services  and 
processes,  for  example  in  the  field  of  eco-design,  smart  grids,  energy  efficiency  of 
buildings, nanotechnologies, security and eMobility. In some instances, innovations 
can  more  easily  gain  market  acceptance  if  they  comply  with  existing  standards  for 
safety,  quality  and  performance.  Interoperability  standards  can  underpin  a 
technological  platform  on  which  other  innovation  can  take  place,  especially  for 
services (for example, using LTE mobile services as a platform for mobile commerce 
solutions or public cloud computing platforms for eGovernment applications).  

Finally, standards can help to bridge the gap between research and marketable 
products or services. A standard can codify the results of publicly funded research, 
thus  making  them  available  as  a  basis  for  further  innovation.  This  can  be  a  highly 
effective mechanism for knowledge and technology transfer. Unfortunately, the full 

16 
17 
18 

COM(2010) 614. 
COM(2010) 546. 
Quality Systems and Standards for a Competitive Edge (drafted by J. Luis Guasch, Jean-Louis Racine, 
Isabel  Sánchez  and  Makhtar  Diop),  The  International  Bank  for  Reconstruction  and  Development/The 
World Bank, 2007. 

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potential  of  standardisation  in  support  of  innovation  is  not  realised.  There  is  still  a 
need  for  further  understanding  on  how  the  different  channels  through  which 
standards can spur innovation interact. 

Scientific  activities  make  a  key  contribution  to  the  standardisation  process.  The 
methodologies, processes and materials that lead  to standards are  defined, partly or 
wholly, by available scientific knowledge. Indeed pre-normative research is a pre-
requisite in many promising industrial applications as a means of establishing a level 
playing field for industrial cooperation and a predictable regulatory environment for 
future market development. 

A systematic approach to research, innovation and standardisation should be adopted 
at  European  and  national  level  to  improve  the  exploitation  of  research  results,  help 
best ideas to reach the market and achieve wide market uptake.  

When  standards  with  a  scientific  component  are  to  be  incorporated  into  European 
Union  policy,  procedures  will  be  defined  to  assure  that  they  are  impartial,  sound, 
based on balanced scientific evidence and take into account impacts throughout the 
lifecycle  of  products  and  services.  In  addition  to  results  relevant  to  standardisation 
from EU funded research projects and other sources, the Joint Research Centre of 
the European Commission will provide scientific input in its area of expertise to 
ensure that standards take into account economic productivity and social needs such 
as  environmental  sustainability,  safety  and  security  concerns.  Awareness  of  the 
potential synergies between research, innovation and standardisation also needs to be 
raised  through  better  education  and  training  about  standards.  In  addition,  standards 
may  include  proprietary  technologies,  especially  in  innovative  domains.  Therefore, 
the IPR policies of the ESOs should contain a fair balance between the interests of 
technology  owners  and  those  of  technology  users,  to  avoid  restrictive  effects  on 
competition. 

European standards are an important step for bringing research results to the market 
and for the validation of technologies. Standards can play this key role only if they 
keep  pace  with  the  development  of  technologies  and  ever  faster  product 
development  cycles.  In  the  past,  lead  time  before  starting  standardisation  work, 
combined with the 3 to 5 years previously required to develop a European standard, 
have meant that standards have lagged too far behind rapidly evolving technologies, 
making 
them  sometimes  obsolete  when  eventually  adopted.  This  becomes 
increasingly  problematic  if  standards  are  to  be  used  strategically  as  a  means  of 
stimulating  innovation  and  promoting  interoperability  of  innovative  products. 
Consequently, certain sectors have been reluctant to engage in standardisation or are 
unable to benefit from the positive effects of standards, such as interoperability.  

To  improve  this  situation,  two  factors  are  of  key  importance:  firstly  efficient 
anticipation  and  planning  of  standardisation,  and  secondly  the  speed  of  standards 
development itself. Anticipation and foresight studies can help to anticipate the need 
for  standards  development,  by  linking  emerging  technologies,  their  research  needs 
for  future  products  and  processes 
the  definition  of  policy.  Numerous 
to 
improvements can be made in these areas without undermining the core values of the 
standardisation system, such as inclusiveness, consensus and the voluntary nature of 
standards.  

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improve  planning  of 

its  standardisation-related  activities 

To 
the  European 
Commission will adopt an annual Work Programme for standardisation, as set out 
in  the  accompanying  proposed  Regulation.  This  Work  Programme  will  identify 
strategic priorities for European standardisation, for mandates19 and for other actions 
required.  Innovative  areas  will  be  prioritised  using  the  mechanisms  set  out  in  the 
flagship  Innovation  Union,  such  as  the  use  of  Innovation  Partnerships  and  the 
monitoring  of  innovation  development  areas  by  the  European  Commission.  The 
proposed  Regulation  will  also  streamline  the  procedure  for  objections  to  a 
harmonised  standard  adopted  for  the  application  for  EU  legislation.  Commission 
funding  of  European  standardisation  will  be  targeted  according  to  the  priorities 
identified in the annual Work Programme.  

Most stakeholders take the view that European  standardisation  processes  should 
be  accelerated,  simplified  and  modernised.  Therefore,  EU  financial  support  to 
the ESOs will be used to drive continuous improvement in the ESOs' performance. 
The Commission will put deadlines in its requests for standards and funding will be 
conditional on the ESOs fulfilling criteria related, inter alia to the speed of standards 
development, the adequate representation of stakeholders and the quality, relevance 
and  timeliness  of  standards  produced.  The  Commission  objective  is  to  reduce  the 
average time to develop European standards or European standardisation deliverables 
requested by the Commission by 50% by 202020. 

Financial support will above all be dependent on the ESOs improving the efficiency 
of  the  European  Standardisation  System  and  on  the  central  secretariats  meeting 
defined  objectives.  Already,  they  have  taken  some  steps,  such  as  the  creation  of  a 
joint  CEN-CENELEC  Management  Centre  under  a  common  Director  General. 
However, the ESOs must now modernise their internal processes, e.g. by exploring 
and  adopting  best  practices  from  other  standards-developing  organisations  and  by 
improving  joint  working  with  one  another  and  with  other  organisations.  The  ESOs 
should also raise awareness about existing conflict resolution mechanisms and ensure 
that these mechanisms deliver a consensus within the appropriate time frame.  

Funding to support mandated standardisation activities will remain a major driver for 
the  development  of  standards  whose  primary  function  is  to  support  EU  public 
policy and legislation. The Commission will also continue to support the translation 
of harmonised standards into official EU languages.  

19 

20 

Mandates  are  requests  to  the  ESOs  to  carry  out  work  related  to  the  planning  or  development  of 
standards.  
A reduction of the average development time from 36 months to 18 months by 2020. 

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Actions 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

As  per  the  accompanying  proposed  Regulation,  the  Commission  will  establish  an 
annual Work Programme, which will identify priorities for European standardisation 
and  the  mandates  required  with  corresponding  deadlines.  The  Commission  will 
establish the Work Programme after broad consultation of relevant stakeholders.  

The  Commission  will  demand  that  European  standards  for  innovative  products 
and services will be quickly elaborated and adopted , for example in the field of eco-
design,  smart  grids,  energy  efficiency  of  buildings,  nanotechnologies,  security  and 
eMobility.  

The  Commission  will  make  funding  of  the  ESOs  conditional  on  their  fulfilment  of 
performance  criteria  and  their  meeting  defined  objectives  which,  inter  alia,  will 
specify that the ESOs will need to optimise the speed of standards development and to 
modernise  their  working  practices.  The  ESOs  should  reduce  the  average  time  to 
develop European standards or European standardisation deliverables requested by the 
Commission by 50% by 2020. In addition, the Regulation will streamline and shorten 
the procedure for objections to a harmonised standard. 

(4)  When standards that have a scientific component are to be incorporated into European 
Union policy, the  Commission will take all necessary steps to assure that  impartial, 
sound  and  balanced  scientific  evidence 
the  European 
standardisation  process.  In  addition  to  results  relevant  to  standardisation  from  EU 
funded research projects and other sources, the Joint Research Centre of the European 
Commission  will  provide  the  scientific  input,  in  its  areas  of  expertise,  to  ensure  that 
standards  take  into  account  economic  competitiveness,  social  needs,  safety/security 
concerns and the environmental impact throughout the life cycle. 

the  basis  of 

is  at 

(5) 

ESOs,  Member  States  and  other  standardisation  bodies  are  expected  to  improve 
awareness  and  education  about  standardisation  and  potential  links  with  research 
projects.  Public  knowledge  about  standardisation  should  be  increased  by  means  of 
training, awareness-raising activities and targeted workshops. 

3. 

USING STANDARDS TO ADDRESS KEY SOCIETAL CHALLENGES  

In  areas  of  high  political  and  economic  importance,  standards  can  be  used 
strategically to accelerate the development of innovative solutions, including through 
the  deployment  of  ICT.  In  the  twenty-first  century  Europe  faces  a  number  of 
strategic  challenges,  in  particular  in  areas  where  standards  have  particularly  strong 
potential  to  support  EU  policy,  such  as  consumer  protection,  accessibility,  climate 
change, resource efficiency, security and civil protection, protection of personal data 
and individuals' privacy21 and the use of ICT for interoperability in the Digital Single 
Market.  

Standards  play  an  important  role  in  supporting  consumer  protection,  in  particular 
through  the  provision  of  safety  parameters  in  standards  that  give  presumption  of 

21 

COM(2010) 609 "A comprehensive approach on personal data protection in the European Union". 

EN 

9 

   EN 

 
                                                 
conformity  to  the  General  Product  Safety  Directive22  (GPSD).  The  Commission  is 
therefore developing a proposal in which it envisages to enable the faster adoption of 
mandates for European Standards and strengthen their role in the Directive.  

Standardisation is already a key instrument for improving accessibility of disabled 
and  elderly  people.  Around  one  tenth  of  all  European  citizens  have  some  form  of 
disability and as the population of Europe ages, this figure will increase. Standards, 
which  take  into  account  accessibility  considerations,  following  the  "design  for  all" 
principle23, have great potential to remove barriers and empower disabled people to 
participate in all aspects of society. "Design for all" contributes to the improvement 
of  equal  access  by  all  people  to;  inter  alia,  employment,  the  built  environment, 
transportation, medical facilities, information and communication, education, leisure 
and culture. Standards developed in accordance with this principle can also support 
innovation and the creation of a true European single market in accessible products 
and  services  for  disabled  and  elderly  people.  European  standardisation  processes 
applied  to  social  services  could  well  be  a  way  to  disseminate  social  innovation 
throughout a large number of entities and would give providers a visible incentive to 
making progress in the right direction. Accessibility requirements therefore need to 
be  considered  in  all  relevant  standardisation  activities,  amongst  others  through 
greater  involvement  of  organisations  representing  disabled  people,  accessibility 
experts  and  other  relevant  professionals.  The  UN  Convention  on  the  Rights  of 
Persons with Disabilities entered into force for the EU on 22 January 2011 and was 
ratified by 17 Member States while the other Member States are still in the process of 
doing  so.  The  Convention  requests  State  parties  to  promote  universal  design  in  the 
development of standards and to develop, promulgate and monitor implementation of 
minimum standards for accessibility of facilities and services open or provided to the 
public. The European standardisation work can contribute to the implementation of 
the Convention in Europe. 

related 

to  end-of-waste  criteria,  durability  and 

European  standardisation  can  support  legislation  and  policies  on  climate  change, 
green  growth  and  can  promote  the  transition  to  a  low  carbon  and  resource-
integrating 
efficient  economy.  Standards  encourage  resource  efficiency  by 
requirements 
recyclability. 
Measurement  standards  will  be  particularly  important  in  assessing  emissions  and 
environmental  impacts,  which  will  enable  improvements  in  the  environmental 
performance of products and production processes. In this, it is encouraged to use life 
cycle  analysis  tools  developed  at  EU  level24  It  will  also  be  crucial  for  the 
development  of  new  markets  for  more  environmentally  friendly  products  and 
services,  and  in  facilitating  market  access  for  new  players.  In  future  it  will  be 
necessary  to  consider  environmental  factors  when  developing  standards  in  other 
areas, the process known as "mainstreaming of environmental requirements"25. The 
Commission  recognises  the  progress  made  by  the  ESOs  in  helping  standards 

22 

23 
24 

25 

Directive 2001/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 December 2001 on general 
product safety. 
Mandate M 473 "Design for All".  
International Life Cycle Database Handbook (http://lct.jrc.ec.europa.eu/); ongoing work on product and 
corporate  environmental 
(http://ec.europa.eu/environment/eussd/corporate_footprint.htm, 
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/eussd/product_footprint.htm) 
See the ECO-Design mandates already issued for a range of product groups, e.g. M/439, M/450, M/451, 
M/469, M/470.  

footprint 

EN 

10 

   EN 

 
                                                 
developers to identify and understand basic environmental impacts and determining 
whether  it  is  possible  to  address  these  when  developing  a  standard.  Nevertheless, 
efforts to deal effectively with environmental issues in the NSBs remain fragmented. 
The  mainstreaming  of  environmental  requirements  should  therefore  remain  a  high 
priority  for  the  ESOs  and  NSBs.  The  NSBs  in  particular  need  to  improve  their 
involvement  of  environmental  Non-Governmental  Organisations  (NGOs)  in  the 
standards development process. 

Accelerating  standardisation  is  key  in  creating  a  European-wide  market  for 
security  products  and  is  already  a  priority  for  the  Commission26  In  the  security 
domain,  speed  is  paramount  to  counter  new  and  emerging  threats,  full  use  should 
therefore  be  made  of  fast  track  procedures  for  standardisation.  Furthermore, 
standards  for  certain  security  applications,  such  as  scanners  at  airports  or  banknote 
printing  presses,  should  only  be  made  available  to  entities  which  have  the  required 
security clearances. 

Actions 

(6) 

(7) 

The  Commission  will  revise  the  General  Product  Safety  Directive,  in  which  it 
envisages  in  particular  to  strengthen  the  role  of  European  standards  and  shorten  the 
procedure for their adoption.  

The  Commission  will  extend  the  strategic  use  of  standardisation  in  support  of 
environmental  and  accessibility  legislation  and  policies  and  in  the  field  of  civil 
security and protection.  

(8)  Member  States  should  ensure 

involvement  of  stakeholders, 
the  effective 
environmental  NGOs  and  representatives  of  disabled  and  elderly  people  in 
standardisation at national level.  

(9) 

The  ESOs  and  NSBs  should  ensure  that  standards  take  full  account  of  consumer, 
environmental  and  accessibility 
their 
representative stakeholders. 

factors  and  adequately 

involve 

4. 

AN INCLUSIVE STANDARDS DEVELOPMENT PROCESS 

The strength of a voluntary standard depends on the strength of the consensus which 
was  reached  when  developing  it.  A  strong  consensus  is  vital  for  a  standard  to  be 
accepted and used by industry. Acceptance of the standard by other stakeholders is 
important  in  those  areas  where  standards  are  used  in  support  of  public  policy  and 
legislation.  However,  at  present  not  all  relevant  stakeholders  are  adequately 
represented  in  the  standardisation  process.  While  SMEs  form  the  backbone  of  the 
European  economy,  it  remains  larger  companies  that  are  better  represented  in  the 
various  technical  bodies  of  European  standardisation.  This  is  because  SMEs  have 
few  employees  and  can  seldom  afford  the  division  of  labour  for  one  employee  to 
spend a relevant amount of time participating in standards development. The costs in 

26 

COM(2009) 691. 

EN 

11 

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terms of the time required, travel expenses and membership fees are proportionally 
too high.  

Furthermore,  standardisation  is  moving  into  new  areas.  Traditionally,  standards 
were  produced  for  technical  coordination.  Nowadays,  standards  are  also  developed 
for the wider use within organizations, for example to provide them with guidance on 
management  systems,  services  or  environmental  and  social  issues.  In  addition, 
although  standards  are  developed  by  private  actors,  the  more  traditional  standards 
often have a significant impact on wider society, affecting the safety and well-being 
of  citizens,  the  efficiency  of  networks,  the  environment  and  other  public  policy 
fields.  

Therefore, SMES and societal stakeholders who represent these wider groups (e.g. 
consumers, trade unions, environmental NGOs, organisations for and of persons with 
disabilities)  must  be  closely  involved  in  the  standardisation  process.  One  of  the 
possibilities for the ESOs to achieve this goal is to seek inspiration in the model used 
for  developing  the  ISO  guidance  standard27  on  social  responsibility,  the  so-called 
"alternative production line". This model is particularly relevant for work items that 
are very sensitive or of particular public interest.  

Currently  the  ETSI  membership  model  is  already  open  to  direct  participation  by 
SMEs.  In  the  case  of  CEN  and  CENELEC,  the  participation  of  SMEs  and  societal 
stakeholders  in  the  development  of  European  Standards  is  channelled  through  the 
NSB.  This  is  a  consequence  of  the  "national  delegation  principle",  whereby  the 
interests  of  all  national  stakeholders  are  represented  within  CEN  and  CENELEC 
through their NSB. The advantage of this principle is that much of the work is done 
at national level so that the costs of participation, especially travel, can be lower and 
national specificities, such as language, can be taken into account. As this principle 
will continue to underpin the standardisation system within CEN and CENELEC, the 
NSBs must be able to provide a robust platform for consensus building. While some 
NSBs  have  made  good  progress  in  this  area,  others  need  to  be  more  proactive  in 
involving stakeholders who have not traditionally participated in the standardisation 
process. In some cases the price of standards remains a barrier to access for SMEs 
and societal stakeholders. Best practice, such as special rates or bundles at a reduced 
price,  can  remove  these  barriers  while  maintaining  or  even  improving  the  financial 
viability of the system. 

In  all  their  activities,  CEN,  CENELEC  and  ETSI  follow  the  core  principles  for 
standardisation28, set out by the World Trade Organisation in the context of the 
Technical  Barriers  to  Trade  Agreement29.  Taking  the  WTO  criteria  as  a  basis,  the 
ESOs  and  NSBs  should  voluntarily  develop  a  scheme,  with  measurable 
parameters,  to  demonstrate  that  the  NSBs  comply  with  these  criteria  and  to 
ensure continuous improvement in the European standardisation system.  

27 
28 

29 

ISO 26000. 
The  core  principles  are:  transparency,  openness,  impartiality  and  consensus,  effectiveness  and 
relevance, and coherence.  
World  Trade  Organisation  Technical  Barriers  to  Trade:  Annex  3c  Code  of  Good  Practice  for  the 
Preparation,  Adoption  and  Application  of  Standards:  http://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/17-
tbt_e.htm. .  

EN 

12 

   EN 

 
                                                 
Such  a  scheme  should  form  the  basis  of  a  future  peer-review  of  the  NSBs  which 
should  include  other  elements  such  as  cost  structure,  transparency  and  efficiency. 
Increased co-operation between NSBs, including the exchange of good practice and 
twinning projects, will also help to increase the performance of NSBs.  

to 

Significant  scope  also  exists 
increase  SMEs'  and  societal  stakeholders' 
participation in European standardisation committees, although issues related to time 
and  cost  form  significant  barriers  to  access.  While  the  ESOs  have  started  work  to 
improve  SMEs'  participation  in  and  benefit  from  standardisation,  further  action  is 
needed.  The  Commission  will  therefore  continue  to  support  financially  the 
participation  of  SMEs  and  societal  stakeholders  in  European  standardisation 
committees30.  It  will  also  continue  to  support  European  organisations  representing 
SMEs  and  societal  stakeholders,  by  financing  the  activities  of  their  secretariats. 
Moreover, CEN and CENELEC should fully implement the recommendations of the 
report  "SME  access  to  European  standardization"31.  They  should  also  adapt  their 
internal rules in order  to strengthen  the  position of  European associations  of  SMEs 
and societal stakeholders.  

Actions 

(10)  The  Commission  will  request  that  the  ESOs  evaluate  the  introduction  of  alternative 
and  more  inclusive  working  processes  (the  “alternative  production  line”),  in 
particular for work items that are very sensitive or of particular public interest.  

(11)  The Commission will request the ESOs and NSBs to implement a voluntary scheme to 
demonstrate  that  NSBs  comply  with  membership  criteria  based  on  WTO  TBT 
principles  and  that  the  ESOs  regularly  monitor  such  compliance.  The  Commission 
further requests that the ESOs report annually the results of these monitoring exercises 
to the Commission.  

(12)  The  Commission  will  also  request  the  ESOs  and  NSBs  to  develop  a  peer  review 
system to actively monitor, inter alia, wide participation in the standardisation process.  

(13)  The  participation  of  national  SME  representative  organisations  and  national 
societal stakeholders should be supported by Member States, including by means of 
financial support if appropriate. 

(14)  National standardisation bodies are encouraged to provide standards at special rates 

or bundle them at a reduced price for SME and societal stakeholders. 

(15)  The  position  of  European  Associations  representing  SMEs  and  societal 
stakeholders  should  be  strengthened,  inter  alia  through  continuing  financial  support 
by the Commission. 

30 
31 

For example through the Small and Medium Enterprises Standardisation Toolkit (SMEST 1 & 2). 
de  Vries,  Blind,  Mangelsdorf,  Verheul,  van  der  Zwann,  "SME  access  to  European  standardization", 
Rotterdam, 2009. 

EN 

13 

   EN 

 
                                                 
5. 

STANDARDISATION AND THE EUROPEAN SINGLE MARKET FOR SERVICES  

A  thriving  and  fully  functioning  European  single  market  is  key  to  delivering  the 
Europe 2020 strategy, as outlined in the flagship initiative Towards a Single Market 
Act32. The foundations of the single market are the four freedoms of movement: of 
persons,  goods,  services  and  capital.  In  one  of  these  areas,  goods,  the  European 
standardisation  system  has  already  made  an  important  contribution,  principally  by 
means  of  the  "New  Approach"  to  legislation,  designed  to  prevent  the  creation  of 
technical barriers to trade.  

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  for  services  and  contributing  to  the 
competitiveness of this key sector of the European economy. Services are today 
one  of  the  main  drivers  of  the  EU  economy,  accounting  for  over  two-thirds  of  EU 
GDP and being the source of all net job creation in the recent year. . However, the 
single market for services is not fulfilling its full potential as long as numerous legal 
and  administrative  obstacles  to  services  continue  to  exist  within  the  single  market. 
Standards have in this context great potential to contribute to a more European and 
thriving  services  sector  and  therefore  a  more  innovating  and  competitive  economy, 
by improving the interoperability and quality of service. 

Progress in the development of European standards for services  has, however, 
been  slow  and  recent  years  have  seen  the  rapid  growth  in  service  standards  at  the 
national rather than the European level, (453 new national standards in 2005-2009, as 
opposed to only 24 European). This proliferation of national standards risks creates 
barriers  to  intra-EU  trade  in  services  by  requiring  businesses  to  adapt  to  an  ever 
greater number of differing national standards within the single market.  

This  is  why  the  Commission  communication  on  the  ‘Single  market  Act:  Twelve 
levers to boost growth and confidence' includes 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.The  proposed  Regulation  on 
European standardisation therefore includes voluntary service standards within 
its  scope  in  order  to  reduce  the  likelihood  of  conflicting  and  multiple  national 
standards,  while  also  enabling  the  Commission,  after  due  consideration,  to  issue 
mandates  requesting  the  development  of  European  service  standards.  Responses  to 
the  public  consultation  on  reform  to  the  standardisation  system  indicated  broad 
support  for  this  proposal.  However,  the  proposed  regulation  will  not  extend  the 
notification of obligatory draft product rules to services as it is not its subject-matter. 
This system, whereby draft technical regulations on products and information society 
services  must  be  notified  to  the  Commission  and  the  other  Member  States,  will 
remain unaltered by the proposal. The extension of this system to the field of services 
might be later considered in the context of the review of Directive 98/34/EC.  

European standards on services must take into account the public interest and 
be  based  on  consensus  and  market  driven  whereby  the  needs  of  the  economic 

32 

COM(2010) 608. 

EN 

14 

   EN 

 
                                                 
operators  and  stakeholders  directly  or  indirectly  affected  by  the  standard  prevail. 
Therefore, the Commission intends to consult service industry stakeholders so as to 
ensure that any future standard actually meets this market relevance test. The High 
Level  group  on  Business  Services  proposed  in  the  Commission  Communication 
"Towards a Single Market Act"33 should also be used as a forum to discuss these and 
other issues related to the standardisation of services. It should be noted that the vast 
majority  of  undertakings  in  the  service  sector  are  small  enterprises.  Therefore,  the 
participation  of  SMEs  and  societal  stakeholders  is  crucial  for  the  standardisation 
process. 

Actions 

(16)  Standards  for  services  will  be  included  in  the  scope  of  the  accompanying  new 

Regulation on Standardisation.  

(17)  The  Commission  will,  where  there  is  a  demand  from  the  market  and  following  a 
consultation  of  stakeholders,  request  the  development  of  voluntary  standards  for 
the  service  sector  which  are  market  driven,  consensus-based  and  take  into 
account the public interest. 

(18)  The  Commission  will  set  up  a  High  Level  Group  on  Business  Services  which  will 

also examine standards issues in industries. 

6. 

STANDARDISATION,  INFORMATION  AND  COMMUNICATION  TECHNOLOGY  (ICT) 
AND INTEROPERABILITY 

ICT  is  responsible  for  5%  of  European  GDP  with  an  annual  market  value  of 
€ 660 billion.  However  that  economic  imp act  is  dwarfed  by  the  impact  of  the 
enabling  role  ICT  plays  in  the  productivity  growth  of  all  other  business  sectors. 
Moreover,  ICT  directly  touches  upon  the  lives  of  individual  citizens  with  over  250 
million daily Internet users in the EU and nearly all European citizen owning mobile 
phones. This has already profoundly changed business and society in many ways and 
these changes will accelerate further: attractive content and services available in an 
efficient  internet  environment  stimulate  the  demand  for  higher  speed  and  capacity, 
which in turn will create new business and trigger even more innovative services.  

Standards  need  to  be  available  to  assure  the  interoperability  between  devices, 
applications, data repositories, services and networks so that Europe can reap the 
full  benefits  of  ICT.  The  use  of  standards  also  needs  to  be  promoted,  including  by 
public procurement and relevant EU policies and legislation. 

At  the  same  time  as  the  ICT  landscape  has  changed  dramatically,  so  has  the 
landscape  in  ICT  standardisation.  Alongside  the  traditional  standard  setting 
organisations, specialised and mostly global ICT Fora and Consortia have become 
more  active  and  several  have  emerged  as  leading  ICT  standards  development 
organisations.  These  leading  organisations  also  usually  implement  rules,  processes 
and  procedures  that  are  broadly  in  line  with  those  laid  down  by  the  WTO  for 

33 

COM(2010) 608. 

EN 

15 

   EN 

 
                                                 
international  standards  organisations.  Although  ESOs  already  made  considerable 
efforts to cooperate more closely with fora and consortia, the standards elaborated by 
the latter are not integrated in European standards. 

It is necessary to reach at least an adequate level of interoperability and to ensure that 
public procurers can acquire interoperable ICT services and applications. This should 
be  achieved  by  taking  account  of  today’s  technologies  where,  in  areas  such  as 
Internet and World Wide Web, the standardisation landscape is occupied by fora and 
consortia rather than the ESOs. In that perspective, the Commission set out for public 
consultation detailed proposals for modernising European ICT standardisation in the 
form  of  a  White  Paper.34  Given  the  positive  reactions  to  the  White  Paper,  the 
Commission will now further implement those proposals.  

As  foreseen  in  the  'Digital  Agenda  for  Europe'35,  the  Regulation  will  establish  a 
system  whereby  the  most  relevant  ICT  standards  developed  by  leading  Global 
ICT Fora and Consortia can be used in public procurement to help avoid lock-
in  and  encourage  competition  in  the  supply  of  interoperable  ICT  services, 
applications  and  products.  In  certain  cases,  when  defined  in  the  context  of  ICT 
policies  and  strategic  initiatives,  architectures  and  interoperability  frameworks,  the 
implementation of globally adopted standardised interfaces may be required in public 
procurement  procedures,  provided  the  principles  of  openness,  fairness,  objectivity 
and non-discrimination and the public procurement directives are applied. 

The  selected  ICT  standards  will  complement  European  standards  and  must 
comply  with  quality  criteria.  Those  criteria,  which  address  both  the  standards 
developing processes and the standards themselves, cover matters such as openness, 
transparency  and  neutrality  as  well  as  imposing  same  minimum  requirements  as 
applied by the ESOs for the treatment of intellectual property (IP) rights.  

The  Commission  will  increasingly  use  selected  ICT  standards  developed  by 
other  standards  development  organisations  than  ESOs  for  European  policies, 
provided  that  these  standards  comply  with  these  quality  criteria,  in  particular  when 
the  interoperability  between  devices,  applications,  data  repositories,  services  and 
networks  must  be  further  enhanced.  For  example,  in  the  evolving  area  of  cloud 
computing standardisation efforts and standards are numerous and dispersed. Efforts 
are needed to ensure these standards are useful for supporting European concerns of 
assuring user choice through interoperability and data portability. 

If  Europe  wants  to  have  the  ICT  standards  that  it  needs  in  a  timely  manner,  a 
permanent  dialogue  between  public  authorities  and  stakeholders  and  a  dialogue 
between  standards  development  organisations,  including  fora  and  consortia,  are  a 
must.  The  Commission  will  also  continue  to  explore  with  stakeholders  ways  of 
further  increasing  the  transparency  and  predictability  of  the  treatment  of  IP  in  ICT 
standardisation.  In  parallel,  the  Commission  will  help  and  encourage  the  ESOs  to 
further strengthen their cooperation with fora and consortia, in particular for bringing 
fora/consortia  specifications  into  the  European  standardisation  system,  for  example 
through fast-track procedures. 

34 
35 

Modernising ICT Standardisation in the EU – The Way Forward - COM(2009) 324, 3.7.2009. 
COM(2010) 245. 

EN 

16 

   EN 

 
                                                 
Actions 

(19)  The accompanying proposed Regulation will allow referencing in public procurement 
documents  of  selected  ICT  standards  that  are  widely  accepted  by  the  market  and 
comply  with  a  set  of  quality  criteria  based  on  the  WTO  principles  for  international 
standardisation  processes,  in  domains  where  the  ESOs  are  not  active,  where  ESO 
standards  have  not  gained  market  uptake  or  where  these  standards  have  become 
obsolete.  

(20) 

(21) 

In  EU  policies,  the  Commission  will  increasingly  use  selected  ICT  standards  that 
comply  with  the  same  set  of  quality  criteria,  in  particular  when  the  interoperability 
between devices, applications, data repositories, services and networks must be further 
enhanced. 

In  2011,  the  Commission  will  create  and  chair  a  dedicated  multi-stakeholder 
platform  to  advise  the  Commission  on  matters  relating  to  the  implementation  of 
standardisation  policy  in  the  ICT  field,  including  the  work  programme  for  ICT 
standardisation, priority-setting in support of legislation and policies and identification 
of specifications developed by Global ICT Fora and Consortia. 

(22)  Member  States  should  increase  the  use  of  standards,  including  the  selected  ICT 
standards,  in  public  procurement  of  ICT  in  order  to  promote  interoperability  and 
innovation and to avoid lock-in. 

(23)  The  ESOs  are  expected  to  continuously  improve  processes  for  bringing  ICT 
standards  developed  by  other  standards  development  organisations  into  the 
European standardisation system, for example through fast-track procedures. 

7. 

STANDARDS TO INCREASE EU COMPETITIVENESS IN THE GLOBAL MARKET  

Europe  already  plays  a  leading  role  in  international  standardisation  through  the 
European  NSBs,  which  are  all  members  of  ISO  and  IEC.  Standards  have  an 
important role to play in supporting the competitiveness of European businesses 
in  the  global  market,  allowing  them  to  access  foreign  markets  and  establish 
business partnerships around the globe36.  

therefore  recognises 

the  framework  for  cooperation  between 

The  European  standardisation  system 
the  primacy  of 
international standards, by means of the Vienna and Dresden agreements, which set 
out 
international 
standardisation  bodies.  International  standards,  in  particular,  contribute  to  the 
removal  of  trade  barriers  resulting  from  differences  in  technical  regulations  of 
various  countries,  and  are  a  powerful  tool  for  promoting  regulatory  convergence. 
European  standards  should  therefore,  wherever  possible,  be  based  upon  the 
internationally  accepted  standards  of  ISO,  IEC  and  ITU.  Further  opportunities  to 
increase  convergence  with  international  standards  should  therefore  be  explored. 
European standards are necessary where international standards are not available or 
where  they  do  not  adequately  serve  legitimate  regulatory  and  policy  objectives. 

the  ESOs  and 

36 

Europe 2020 flagship initiative for Trade, Growth and World Affairs - COM(2010) 612. 

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Where  European  standards  deviate  from  existing  international  standards,  an  outline 
of the reasons for the deviation should be provided.  

Whilst the EU and EFTA are committed to implementing all international standards, 
which  are  compatible  with  the  values  of  European  standardisation,  by  withdrawing 
conflicting European ones, there is no equally comprehensive commitment to using 
international standards from any other country or regional organisation. The EU shall 
therefore continue to promote the use of international standards, remain proactive 
in avoiding protectionist measures and expect a similar attitude from its partners.  

Europe is often an innovator in developing new types of tradable goods, services and 
technologies,  for  example  in  areas  such  as  electric  vehicles,  security,  energy 
efficiency and smart grids. By driving the development of European or international 
standards in these areas Europe can maximise first mover advantage and increase the 
competitiveness  of  European  industry.  Standardisation  bodies  based  in  the  EU 
should therefore continue to put forward proposals for international standards 
in  those  areas  where  Europe  is  a  global  leader  to  maximise  European  competitive 
advantage.  International  standardisation  will  also  be  important  in  tackling  societal 
challenges,  such  as  climate  change,  accessibility  and  the  living  conditions  of  an 
ageing  population.  Effective  action  will  require  increased  co-operation  between  the 
ESOs and their international counterparts during the preparatory phase of standards 
development.  

European standardisation can inspire neighbouring countries and other regions 
around the globe. The European standardisation system should be promoted through 
further  and  better  coordinated  visibility  and  technical  assistance  initiatives,  for 
example  to  increase  participation  of  developing  and  least  developed  countries  in 
international  standard-setting  work,  or  by  the  establishment  of  standardisation  and 
internal market regulation experts in third markets.  

Since  the  EU’s  trade  policy  pays  particular  attention  to  the  US,  China,  Russia, 
Japan,  India  and  Brazil,  it  is  important  for  our  economic  relations  with  these 
countries to reinforce the cooperation with them on standardisation. In this context, 
the  Commission  particularly  welcomes  the  results  of  the  Transatlantic  Economic 
Council (TEC) and the High Level Regulatory Cooperation Forum (HLRCF) for the 
improvement  of  upstream  cooperation  in  standardisation  between  the  EU  and  the 
USA in the field of energy efficiency, electric vehicles, accessibility and smart grids. 
Co-operation between the Commission and China has also shown promising results 
and similar initiatives should be undertaken with other partners, such as India.  

In the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy, the EU regulatory model 
is  promoted  and  partners  are  encouraged  to  use  the  possibility  to  capitalise  on  the 
attractiveness  of  a  shared  regulatory  environment.  Several  partners  have  already 
adopted a broad-ranged approach to convergence with EU standards and are working 
to implement commitments on taking over those European standards with a view to 
negotiating  Deep  and  Comprehensive  Free  Trade  Agreements  (DCFTA)  with  the 
EU. 

The  wider  use  of  voluntary  international  standards  in  regulation  is  also  a 
powerful tool to bring about regulatory convergence between different countries 
and  trading  blocks  to  ensure  the  proper  functioning  of  global  markets,  including 

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financial  markets.  During  trade  negotiations  and  regulatory  dialogues  the  European 
Commission  and  Member  States  should  therefore  continue  to  promote  regulatory 
convergence  and  make  use  of  existing  sectoral  initiatives,  which  include  a 
standardisation component. The EU should also work with its international partners 
to promote the use of voluntary international standards in regulation and to improve 
the openness, transparency and quality/effectiveness of our respective processes.  

The ESOs already collaborate and coordinate their activities with their international 
counterparts.  They  should  jointly  conclude  further  agreements  with  the 
recognised standards bodies in third countries and regions. 

Actions 

(24)  The  Commission  will  continue  to  promote  the  enhanced  convergence  to 
international standards, the use of voluntary standards in regulation and the use 
of  existing  sectoral  regulatory  convergence  initiatives  in  the  context  of  regulatory 
dialogues and trade negotiations. The Commission will support and strengthen current 
regulatory dialogues, in particular those which explicitly include standardisation, and 
investigate the possibility of establishing further dialogues with new partners.  

(25)  The  Commission  will  provide  technical  assistance  to  countries  and  regions,  with  a 
view to encouraging their participation in international standard setting work. 

(26)  By  supporting  European  standardisation  experts  in  the  countries  with  a  strategic 
trade  dimension  for  the  EU,  the  Commission  will  strengthen  cooperation  with  their 
standardisation bodies. 

(27)  The  Commission  expects  that  ESOs  and  NSBs  put  forward  more  proposals  for 
international  standards  in  those  areas  where  Europe  is  a  global  leader.  The 
Commission further requests that the ESOs actively monitor European performance in 
international standardisation and that they report annually on this to the Commission.  

(28)  ESOs are expected to act jointly in international matters and to further strengthen 
their  existing  co-operation  with  their  international  counterparts.  Such  improved 
cooperation  should  include  innovative  areas  of  standards  development,  and  further 
promotion of mechanisms for the joint preparation of standards. 

8. 

MONITORING PROGRESS AND DEVELOPING A STRATEGY BEYOND 2020  

The  Commission  will  begin  implementation  of  its  actions  immediately  while  some 
actions may require the entry into force of the accompanying regulation, ideally on 
1 January 2013.  

By 2013 at the latest, an independent review will be launched to measure and assess 
if  the  strategic  objectives  of  this  communication  are  being  achieved.  Its  main 
objective  will  be  to  assess  if,  in  a  longer  term  perspective,  the  European 
standardisation  system  is  able  to  adapt  to  the  quickly  evolving  environment  and  to 
contribute to Europe’s strategic internal and external objectives, in particular in the 
field  of  industrial  policy,  innovation  and  technological  development.  It  will  also 
examine if the European standardisation system is adequate from the point of view of 
the market’s needs, of inclusivity and of representativity. In this context, it will also 

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examine  if  voting  rights  should  be  granted  for  selected  European  organisations 
representing  SME  and  societal  stakeholders  in  the  ESOs.  Moreover,  it  should  also 
assess  how  the  European  standardisation  system  can  support  European  standards 
beyond  the  single  market  in  the  globalised  economy.  The  Commission  will  also 
ensure full alignment with the post-2013 Multiannual Financial Framework and the 
provisions  of  the  Financial  Regulation.  The  independent  review  will  also  form  a 
useful  foundation  to  establish  strategic  priorities  for  standardisation  beyond  2020. 
These  priorities  will  provide  a  sound  basis  for  European  standardisation  policy, 
ensuring  that  standardisation  will  continue  to  play  an  important  part  in  supporting 
Europe's future. 

Action 

(29)  An  independent  review  will  be  launched  in  2013  at  the  latest  to  assess  progress 
against strategic objectives and evaluate the performance of the current governance in 
the  European  standardisation  system.  It  will  consider  measures  to  make  standard 
setting faster, more inclusive and more efficient while maintaining the EU’s strategic 
position  vis-à-vis  our  main  trade  partners.  The  Commission  will  also  secure  the 
alignment with the post-2013 Multiannual Financial Framework and the provisions of 
the Financial Regulation. 

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