COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS EUROPEAN STANDARDS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
Date: 2016-06-01
Institutions: Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, European Commission
Subjects: EU action, European standardisation body, digital technology, innovation, institutional cooperation, international cooperation, single market, standardisation

EN 

   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 1.6.2016  COM(2016) 358 final   Standardisation package COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS EUROPEAN STANDARDS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY {SWD(2016) 186 final}  
 
 
EUROPEAN STANDARDS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY 

European standards contribute to Single Market integration and thus to ensuring job creation, 
overall  growth  of  the  EU  economy,  increased  competitiveness,  innovation  and  industrial 
leadership.  Deepening  the  Single  Market  means  extending  the  level  playing  field  for 
economic operators, notably through technical harmonisation.   

From  goods  to  services  and  information  and  communication  technologies  (ICT),  standards 
have  proven  to  be  a  flexible  way  of  raising  quality  and  safety,  improving  transparency  and 
interoperability,  reducing  costs  and  opening  up  markets  for  businesses,  especially  SMEs. 
Standards benefit consumers, companies and society at large. 

Economic evidences show that a well-functioning standardisation system translates into GDP 
growth  (see  below  page  3).  Standard  setting  in  Europe  is  largely  industry  driven.  While 
standards  are  developed  by  a  standards  organisation,  the  market  may  also  simply  adopt  the 
technical  specifications  developed  by  one  company  or  by  bodies  active  in  the  field,  i.e. 
professional organisations. 

The  regulator  can  define  essential  requirements  in  legislation  and  request  to  the  European 
Standardisation  System  (ESS)  to  develop,  for  indirect  reference,  voluntary  European 
standards, which give presumption of conformity (or safety) after publication in the OJEU. So 
an  efficient  standardisation  system  can  only  be  based  on  a  close  partnership  between  the 
regulator, the standardisation bodies and the industry.  

A standard is a voluntary technical document helping economic operators in a value chain to 
interoperate  easier.  For  example,  the  standards  on  paper  sizes  (A3,  A4, A5  etc…)  facilitate 
the  interaction  between  consumers,  paper  and  envelop  manufacturers,  printing  houses  and 
photocopier producers. The standard gives visibility and technical certainty, a pre-condition 
for economic operators to invest.  

The  ESS  has  been  successful  until  now  to  issue  high  quality  and  efficient  standards,  while 
placing  Europe  on  the  global  stage.  Industry  supports  the  European  standards  development 
and  their  regular  and  agile  revision  to  take  into  account  state-of-the-art  technologies.  In 
addition, the interaction between European standardisation and international one is constant: 
sometimes,  European  standards  are  proposed  to  international  standardisation  organisations, 
sometimes,  international  standards  become  European  ones.  This  dialogue  is  important  as  it 
makes it easier for companies to go global, notably SMEs. 

However, the standardisation environment is changing. New technologies and the progressive 
integration of digital solutions in industrial  global value chains, as well as  the fast evolving 
international  context  are  putting  pressure  on  the  ESS  which  can  still  be  leveraged  to 
contribute more to EU jobs and growth. A new momentum is needed to respond effectively to 
the  standards  needs  of  industry,  consumers  and  other  stakeholders.  Building  on  that  new 
momentum  ensures  that  Europe  remains  a  global  hub  for  standardisation.  If  not,  standards 
would be set somewhere else and Europe would lose opportunities to benefit from first-mover 
advantage. 

For that purpose, the Joint Initiative on Standardisation, as foreseen under the Single Market 
Strategy,  sets  out  an  innovative  way  of  achieving  these  priorities  through  an  open  public-
private co-operation.  

In this Communication, the Commission sets out its vision for a single and efficient ESS that 
adapts  to  the  changing  environment,  supports  multiple  policies  and  brings  benefits  to 
companies, consumers and workers alike.  

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The  Communication  also  puts  in  context  the  Joint  Initiative  on  Standardisation  as  a  direct 
delivery  of  the  Single  Market  Strategy.  It  is  accompanied  by  documents  exploring different 
facets  of  European  standardisation  such  as  an  evaluation  report,  the  Annual  Union  Work 
Programme for 2017 and a document on standards for services. 

The European Standardisation Regulation 1025/2012 (hereinafter "Regulation") sets the legal 
framework  for  a  long  standing  partnership  between  EU,  Member  States,  standardisation 
organisations  and  bodies,  social  and  societal  stakeholders  including  those  representing 
persons with disabilities, and users of standards.  
The vision presented today draws on a REFIT1 evaluation of this framework2 and extensive 
public consultations3 which concluded that the ESS is on track with achieving the objectives 
expected by the legislator4 while recommending improved inclusiveness in the ESS, increased 
interaction and better communication within it. 

In response to these calls and to reinforce the partnership between the European institutions 
and  the  European  standardisation  community,  the  Commission  announced  in  its  Single 
Market Strategy5 its intention to launch a Joint Initiative on Standardisation, bringing together 
public  and  private  institutions  and  organisations  in  a  collaborative  dialogue  process.  The 
shared  objective  is  to  promote  a  European  standardisation  hub  with  global  impact,  where 
standards are developed in a timely, open, transparent and inclusive manner, to support and 
promote  innovation  for  all  and  to  increase  competitiveness  of  European  companies  in 
increasingly global value chains. 6 

The Joint Initiative is complemented by two other documents, more concretely addressing key 
areas  for  standardisation  which  have  a  cross-cutting  impact  on  economic  development:  the 
European  Commission  Communication  on  "ICT  standardisation  Priorities  for  the  Digital 
Single Market" adopted in April 20167, as part of the Digital Single Market technologies and 
public  services  modernisation  package  (the  "April  ICT  standards  Communication")  and  a 
specific document on standards for services, which is part of the present package. 

In  that way, new forms of cooperation will set a new best practice for a more collaborative 
and agile approach in line with the Better Regulation principles8. 

In  support  of  the  new  vision  on  standards  and  in  line  with  the  Joint  Initiative  on 
Standardisation,  the  Commission  proposes  to  launch  an  inter-institutional  dialogue, 
including  an  integrated  annual  reporting  preserving  the  diversity  of  different  domains,  with 
the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the 
Committee  of  the  Regions  on  the  implementation  of  EU  standardisation  policy  and  the 

1 Regulatory Fitness and Performance Programme (REFIT): State of Play and Outlook, COM(2014) 368 final, 18.6.2014 
2 The Article 24 report forms part of this package 
3 Independent review of the European standardisation system, ISBN: 978-92-79-46201-6; DOI: 10.2873/720891; ET-01-15-151-EN-N 
4  The  Regulation  harmonises  the  previously  fragmented  standardisation  legislation,  extends  its  scope  to  services  and  standardisation 
deliverables  other  than  standards  and,  finally,  better  incorporates  societal  stakeholders  and  SMEs  into  the  system.  The  REFIT  evaluation 
considers  the  framework  itself  fit  for  purpose  and  shifts  its  focus  on  how  its  implementation  can  best  support  the  ten  priorities  of  the 
Commission. Given the recent entry into force of the Regulation, a full ex post evaluation of the Regulation could not be achieved due to the 
fact  that  a  full  cycle  of  the  standardisation  work  requested  by  the  Commission  since  2013  has  not  yet  been  completed.  Nevertheless,  the 
Independent Review, which was a key part of the REFIT evaluation, raised a lot of interest among stakeholders. Their main concerns relate 
to the fact that the current ESS should increase the participation and representation of stakeholders. 
5 COM(2015) 550 final 
6 Inclusive processes are important to avoid that standards imply excessive costs of compliance and certification or risk impeding 
competition. 
7 COM (2016) 176 final 
8 COM(2015) 215 final; http://ec.europa.eu/smart-regulation/better_regulation/key_docs_en.htm 

3 

 
 
 
                                                            
contribution  of  European  standards  to  EU  policies  in  general  and  to  jobs  creation, 
competitiveness and growth in particular.  

1-STANDARDS MATTER 

…because they promote innovation 

In the past, standards have at times been perceived as slowing down innovation. As a matter 
of  fact,  standards  promote  innovation:  they  allow  for  an  early  market  uptake  of  innovative 
products and services in particular if they address performance criteria instead of prescribing 
the use of specified products or procedures, allow technology transfer and facilitate research. 
Standards  also  typically  ensure  interoperability  between  different  devices  and  services, 
allowing for innovation to take place "on top of innovation". Standardisation allows different 
individuals,  firms  and  institutions  to  coordinate  on  a  particular  technology  or  methodology. 
Once standards are developed, typically within European Standardisation Organisations, they 
provide  valuable  input  for  further  innovation,  resulting  in  the  creation  of  new  products  and 
services.  Inclusive  innovation  processes  based  on  the  Regulation  make  sure  that  standards 
work  for  both  standards  developers  and  standards  users,  thus  helping  making  standards  a 
vehicle to open markets and innovation. 

…because they increase quality and safety 

Standards  also  raise  the  quality  and  safety  of  products  and  services,  benefitting  consumers, 
workers,  companies  and  society  at  large.  Health,  safety  and  environmental  standards  define 
the features of many products and services. 

…because they enable jobs and growth 

Standards  are  an  essential  enabler  for  jobs  and  growth  in  Europe.  A  properly  functioning 
standardisation  environment  is  instrumental  to  competitiveness.  Several  national  studies 
demonstrate that  standards positively impact economic growth  and competitiveness. Studies 
from,  for  example,  France9,  Germany10  and  the  UK11  have  confirmed  that  standardisation 
increases a country's GDP. For France, the impact of standards on growth is estimated at 0.8 
%, for United Kingdom at 0.3 % and for Germany at 0.9 % of GDP. To put this in monetary 
terms, the German standard body, DIN estimates  that in  Germany alone, standards generate 
up to EUR 17 billion a year. Another recent study from the UK' also confirms that the use of 
standards benefits the national economy: standards contributed to around EUR 11 billion of 
the EUR 40 billion GDP growth in 2013 (2014 prices) and to around EUR 8.5 billion to UK 
exports.  The  same  study  shows  that  standards  help  to  enhance  quality,  with  70%  of 
respondents stating that standards had improved the quality of products and services12.  

…because they support global value chains  

Standards  also  support  global  value  chains,  because  they  can  open  markets  for  companies 
beyond  the  EU:  European  and  national  standardisation  bodies  cooperate  with  international 
standardisation  ones  like  ISO  and  IEC  to  develop  international  standards  that  are  used 
worldwide. 

For  all  these  reasons,  calls  for  standards  are  part  of  various  EU  policies,  from  the  Energy 
Union to Climate Action and circular economy to the Digital Single Market. 

9  AFNOR  (2016):  Economic  impact  of  standardisation,  January  2016,  Paris,  France;  AFNOR  (2009):  The  Economic  Impact  of 
Standardisation – Technological Change, Standards and Long-Term Growth in France. 
10 DIN (2000): Economic Benefits of Standardisation, 3 volumes. Berlin: Beuth. (Update 2011) 
11 DTI (2005): The Empirical Economics of Standards, DTI ECONOMICS PAPER NO.12. London 
12 British Standards Institution (BSI), 'The Economic Contribution of Standards to the UK Economy', 2015 

4 

 
 
                                                            
…because the European standardisation process overcomes costly fragmentation in the 
single market  

The  ESS  is  built  on  a  long  standing  and  successful  public-private  partnership  between 
European  and  National  Standardisation  Bodies  (NSBs)  as  suppliers  of  standards,  the 
Commission  using  European  standardisation  to  support  the  implementation  of  the  Union’s 
legislation and policies, as well as industry, SMEs, workers, environmental organisations and 
citizens groups. It is a private sector-based system13 which covers standardisation of products 
and  services,  across  sectors.  The  standardisation  setting  process  itself  is  based  on  WTO 
principles14  as  well  as  inclusiveness  of  SMEs  and  societal  stakeholders15.  Being  consensus-
based,    the  expected  market  uptake  allows  for  market  penetration  of  innovative  products  at 
reduced production costs. 

There are three European Standardisation Organisations (CEN, Cenelec, ETSI), recognised by 
the Regulation. They respectively deal with various kinds of products, materials, services and 
processes (CEN), with the electro-technical engineering field (Cenelec) and with Information 
and Communication Technologies (ETSI). 

"European  standards"  are  voluntary,  market-driven  and  adopted  by 
the  European 
Standardisation  Organisations:  they  replace  conflicting  national  standards  in  all  28  member 
States. This makes life of businesses, notably SMEs easier. An important feature of European 
standards  is  also  that  they  are  regularly  updated  in  order  to  incorporate  state-of-the-art 
knowledge and technology. There are currently roughly 20 000 European standards developed 
by CEN-Cenelec for products and services and 35 000 standardisation deliverables by ETSI. 

in  response 

"Harmonised  European  standards"  are  a  specific  type  of  European  standards,  developed  by 
the  European  Standardisation  Organisations 
to  standardisation  requests 
(‘Mandates’)16  from  the  Commission  for  the  application  of  Union  harmonised  legislation. 
After publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU)17, the EU companies 
choosing  to  use  harmonised  standards  benefit  from  a  'presumption  of  conformity'  to  the 
requirements  set  out  in  the  corresponding  European  legislation18.  They  can  market,  without 
further hurdle, their products or services throughout the Single Market – reaching over half a 
billion  potential  consumers.  There  are  currently  4000  harmonised  European  Standards 
developed by CEN-Cenelec and almost 500 by ETSI.  

2. STANDARDS TOGETHER: A SINGLE PLATFORM SERVING MULTIPLE POLICIES 

Rapidly  evolving  technology  cycles,  increased  complexity  and  interaction  in  industrial 
systems,  blurring  of  the  borders  between  products,  services  and  ICT,  diversification  of 
business models put current regulatory systems under strain. This is also true for the ESS. 

Faced with such challenges, an efficient, open, transparent, inclusive and agile ESS is needed 
to produce state-of-the-art standards in support of market needs and public policies, providing 
a predictable and stable investment framework to economic operators. 

13 Recital 2 of Regulation 1025/2012: " European standardisation is organised by and for the stakeholders concerned based on national 
representation (the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation 
(Cenelec) and direct participation (the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI))" 
14  Transparency,  Openness,  Impartiality  and  Consensus,  Effectiveness  and  Relevance,  Coherence,  Development  dimension  (“The  WTO 
Agreements Series” – Technical Barriers to Trade Decisions and recommendations adopted by the TBT Committee since   1  January  1995 
Part 1: Decisions and recommendations, https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/publications_e/tbttotrade_e.pdf) 
15 Annex III Organisations, Regulation (EU)1025/2012 
16 Article 10 of Regulation (EU)1025/2012 
17 According to Article 10 of the Regulation 
18 This statement applies to a large extent to European standards developed in application of the General Product Safety Directive 
(2001/95/EC), which give presumption of safety after publication in the OJEU.  

5 

 
 
                                                            
A  single  standardisation  policy  in  support  of  multiple  economic  sectors  and  stakeholders  is 
crucial for European leadership. Timely and high quality standards built in an inclusive way 
among  all  actors  and  allowing  innovative  companies  to  scale-up  in  the  single  market  and 
worldwide, are a win-win for regulators, industry and consumers alike. 

To  that  end,  as  mentioned,  the  Single  Market  Strategy  announced  the  launch  of  the  ‘Joint 
Initiative  on  Standardisation’  (JIS)  between  the  public  and  private  partners  in  the  ESS, 
including  European  and  national  standardisation  organisations  and  bodies, 
industry 
associations, SMEs, consumer associations, trade unions, environmental organisations, EFTA, 
Member States and the Commission.  

Discussions  among  all  the  partners  took  place  in  a  unique  format  based  on  an  open, 
innovative, consensus-based  and collaborative drafting  process.  This was  characterised  by  a 
pro-active  engagement  of  all  the  above-mentioned  stakeholders.  The  result  of  this  process 
includes a common vision for all partners as well as a shared process to focus together on a 
variety of initiatives seeking to modernise, prioritise, speed up and streamline the delivery of 
standards by the end of 2019.  

The  participants  endeavour  to  sign  up  to  and  jointly  implement  the  vision  articulated  in  the 
JIS on a voluntary basis and without prejudice to existing legislations, in particular Regulation 
1025/2012. Each of the partners will contribute to the process according to their expertise and 
interest. 

The JIS is based on the value chain of standardisation (see Figure 1) and will be delivered by 
15 actions in three areas (see Annex 1): 

i.  Awareness, education and understanding about the ESS; 
ii.  Coordination, cooperation, transparency and inclusiveness; and 
iii.  Competitiveness and international dimension. 

These  actions  aim  at  improving  the  ESS  functioning  in  line  with  its  core  values,  such  as 
consensus and the voluntary nature of standards.  

Main expected achievements of the Joint Initiative on Standardisation (JIS) 

In 2013, the average time for the development of European standards required 36 months on 
average (down from 60 months in 2009). Speed of standard development needs to be squared 
with inclusiveness and quality of the standard. There are interesting experiments in different 
parts  of  the  standardisation  community  for  improving  the  timely  delivery  of  high  quality 
standards.  These  involve  new  ways  of  producing  standards  with  a  view  to  halving  the  time 
needed  by  2020.  Best  practice  exchange  and  enhanced  collaboration  across  organisations 
under the JIS will induce the required standard setting processes.  

Timely  development  of  standards  in  a  fast  evolving  technology  context  also  requires  early 
consideration of standard relevance already at the R&D stage. The partners of the JIS propose 
to speed up standards setting through new ways of collaborative development of standards. 

Efficient  anticipation  and  planning  of  standardisation  through  R&D  are  important.  In  fact, 
foresight  studies  can  help  to  anticipate  the  need  for  standards  development,  by  linking 
emerging technologies, their research needs for future products and processes to the definition 
of  policy.  A  recent  foresight  study  of  the  Joint  Research  Centre19  investigated  the  future 
industrial  landscape  and  areas  of  improvement  for  the  ESS  to  fulfil  the  future  needs  while 
respecting  the  core  value  of  the  system.  The  JIS  explores  how  the  gap  between 

19 “How will standards facilitate new production systems in the context of European innovation and competitiveness in 2025?”, ISBN: 978-
92-79-45414-1 

6 

 
 
                                                            
research/innovation  priorities  and  European  standardisation  could  be  analysed  in  a  more 
systematic and forward looking way to finally bridge it more effectively so as to generate an 
early standardisation reflex in R&D work and its absorption by the ESS to better support the 
marketing of innovative products and services. This will help align priorities with standards 
developments and testing activities supported in particular by the Horizon 2020 programme. 

Another important element is the education and awareness building on the competitiveness 
potential of standardisation. At European level, there is little to no presence of standardisation 
neither  in  formal  education  nor  in  vocational  training,  and  in  particular,  the  EU 
standardisation model. Therefore, there is a need to explore and promote standardisation as an 
element  of  formal  education,  academic  and  vocational  training,  in  co-operation  with 
experienced  Member  States,  as  well  as  engaging  academia  and  get  the  next  generation  of 
standardisers ready in due time. The JIS foresees the development of training programmes on 
standardisation for national and European public administrations as an important element in 
the  frame  of  this  innovative  educational  project,  supporting  smart  and  innovation-friendly 
legislation and public policies. 

Prioritisation  of  standardisation  activities  is  crucial  to  contribute  to  the  competitiveness  of 
the European industry. Efficient prioritisation requires dialogue and joint analysis between the 
EU and standardisation stakeholders in determining market relevance and policy needs. This 
includes  opinions  by  social  and  societal  stakeholders  in  standard-setting  and  an  early 
involvement of industry through enhanced information exchange with the Commission in line 
with Articles 10, 11 and 12 of the Standardisation Regulation. Better prioritisation  will also 
allow  a  more  efficient  use  of  the  available  expertise  in  Europe  (roughly  60  000  experts 
contributing to  the ESS today).  Better  prioritisation  is also a key element  highlighted in  the 
above-mentioned  ICT  standards  Communication  setting  out  a  comprehensive  strategic  and 
political  approach  to  standardisation  for  priority  ICT  technologies  that  are  critical  to  the 
completion  of  the  Digital  Single  Market,  and  in  the  Services  Standards  document, 
accompanying  this  Communication.  These  initiatives  share  the  same  vision  as  the  JIS  and 
thus  their  follow  up  will  be  done  in  line  with  it  in  these  cross-sectoral  areas.  Additionally, 
three pilot projects will seek to enhance the support of standardisation in priority areas such as 
the  construction  sector,  for  public  procurement  and  for  participation  of  SMEs,  social  and 
societal stakeholders in international standardisation. 

At the same time, the Commission will be able to better monitor the stock of non-published 
harmonised  standards  which  have  been  proposed  by  the  European  Standardisation 
Organisations for publication in the OJEU so that it becomes an EU harmonised standard.  

As  markets  are  becoming  increasingly  global,  so  is  standardisation.  At  international  level, 
Europe’s  trade  and  investment  potential  is  strengthened  by  pursuing  the  promotion  of  the 
European  regulatory  model  in  third  countries.  The  JIS  aims  at  encouraging  stakeholders  to 
internationally  promote  the  use  of  tools  such  as  developing  common  regulatory  models  in 
international organisations and negotiations as a basis for standardisation, to build a common 
understanding with relevant trade partners of which are the relevant international standards in 
the different sectors, as well as to support European SMEs, social and societal stakeholders in 
international  standardisation  processes,  e.g.  by  promoting  best  practices  for  SMEs  at 
International  Organisation  for  Standardisation  (ISO)  and  International  Electrotechnical 
Commission  (IEC)  level.  For  that  purpose  and  other  policy  topics,  regular  contacts  and 
structured dialogues with these organisations will be held by the Commission. 

Overall, these actions have to be seen as a whole and reinforcing each other. The entire value 
chain of standardisation thus will be more transparent, inclusive and efficient to respond to 
future challenges along the ten Commission priorities. 

7 

 
 
Figure 1: The European Standardisation Value Chain, concept & layout: EC. 

The Joint initiative on Standardisation sets out a vision and aims at modernising the way 
standards are produced in Europe. It will in particular focus on key elements: promoting 
faster  standards  development,  closing  the  gap  between  research  priorities  and  European 
standardisation, clearer prioritisation, and stronger international presence.  

The  setting  up  of  a  Steering  Group,  chaired  by  the  European  Commission,  is  foreseen  to 
monitor  the  follow-up  of  the  different  individual  actions  and  identify  new  ones,  where 
appropriate.  The  actions  are  expected  to  be  tabled  for  the  first  time  on  the  occasion  of  the 
World  Standards  Day  2016  (14  October  2016).  The  Steering  Group  is  an  informal 
consultative  body  and  its  suggestions  will  be  without  prejudice  to  regulatory  framework 
established  by  Regulation  1025/2012  and  to  the  Commission's  prerogatives.  The  European 
Commission shall consider whether to endorse other actions which might be proposed. 

3.  STANDARDS  IN  SUPPORT  OF  POLICIES  THAT  CUT  ACROSS  THE  ECONOMY:  SERVICES  AND 
ICT  

The  increasing  digitisation  and  servicification  of  the  economy  made  ICT  and  services 
standards crucial enablers working across the whole economic spectrum. Their potential still 
needs to be fully realised, therefore standardisation in these two areas has been addressed by 
the Commission specifically and as a priority. Therefore, the Commission already adopted in 
April  2016  the  ICT  Standards  Communication  and  is  presenting  a  specific  guidance  for 
services  standards  with  "Tapping  the  potential  of  European  service  standards  to  help 
Europe's consumers and businesses", accompanying this Communication. 

….ICT standards 

8 

 
 
 
 
Common  ICT  standards  ensure  the  interoperability  of  digital  technologies  and  are  the 
foundation  of  an  effective  Digital  Single  Market.  They  guarantee  that  technologies  work 
smoothly  and  reliably  together  across  sectors  and  industries,  provide  economies  of  scale, 
foster research and innovation and keep markets open. The development of ICT standards in 
priority technologies that are critical to the completion of the Digital Single Market requires a 
focused and sustained European response. These considerations are at the basis of the April 
ICT standards Communication, with the aim to ensure that ICT-related standards are set in a 
way that is more responsive to policy needs, agile, open, more strongly linked to research and 
innovation,  better  joined-up,  and  thus  that  they  ultimately  have  more  impact  for  the  wider 
European economy as it transforms into a digital one. 

Public-private  partnerships  and  other  large  scale,  industry-driven  research  initiatives  enable 
European  companies  to  link  their  research  to  standardisation.  There  is  a  need  for  further 
collaboration between the relevant stakeholders, including European industry, European and 
international  standardisation  bodies  and  forums  aiming  at  comprehensive  standardisation 
roadmaps. Encouraging open standards is of particular importance for the Commission. Open 
and  cross-cutting  ecosystems  for  standard  development  should  be  preferred  to  proprietary 
solutions, purely national approaches and standards that limit interoperability. 

The Commission will monitor on-going work on ICT priority areas in relevant international 
standardisation  and  other  fora  and  continue  to  proactively  engage  with  key  international 
partners to ensure global alignment of priorities in the ICT domain. 

…. and standards for services  

A  service  standard  is  a  standard  that  specifies  requirements  to  be  fulfilled  by  a  service  to 
establish its fitness for purpose, e.g. by providing definitions, indicators of service quality and 
their levels or specifying time of delivery20. 

Voluntary  European  standards  for  services  can  yield  many  of  the  same  benefits  as  for 
products.  Services  account  for  70% of  the  EU  economy,  yet  service  standards  only  account 
for  2%  of  all  European  standards.  In  addition,  a  recent  stakeholder  consultation  exercise 
showed  that  national  service  standards  can  constitute  barriers  to  cross-border  service 
provision. Yet this is at a time when services are increasing as a percentage of GDP across all 
Member  States,  service  providers  are  ever  more  involved  in  global  value  chains  and 
manufacturers  are  more  and  more  providing  services  with  products,  often  referred  to  as 
'servitification'.  This  can  be  held  up  where  standards  for  products  are  not  matched  with 
standards for accompanying services. 

This  lower  level  of  development  of  European  service  standards  is  a  cause  of  missed 
opportunities for European service providers looking to offer cross-border and for European 
manufacturers  looking  to  offer  services  with  their  products  across  borders.  Because  of  this 
and  its  impact  on  the  European  economy  as  a  whole,  there  have  been  several  calls  for 
concerted European action.  

As announced in the Single Market Strategy, and in response to calls from industry, consumer 
associations, Member States and standard setters, the Commission is presenting its approach 
for  service  standards  in  the  attached  staff  working  document.  The  document  looks  at  the 
challenges  for  service  standards  and  sets  out  both  a  general  framework  and  practical  policy 

20 Examples are the standard on handling customer complaints in postal services, standards on requirements for tourist information services 
or on facility management processes. 

9 

 
 
 
                                                            
solutions  to  promote  the  greater  development  of  European  standards  for  services,  address 
national  barriers,  and  improve  information  provision.  It  will  provide  a  basis  for  the 
Commission, Member States, standard setters and stakeholders to work together to ensure that 
service standards make their full contribution across the economic spectrum. It complements 
the Joint Initiative as well as measures on integrating Europe's service markets. 

In line with the Joint Initiative on Standardisation, ICT and service standards should be key 
priorities of the European Standardisation System so that Europe can fully grasp the benefits 
of the digitisation and servicification of the economy. On the service standards in particular, 
the Staff working document included in this package aims at giving a first analysis of the need 
of service standards.  

4. Way forward 

Currently, European Standardisation policy is developed through different policy instruments, 
namely  the  Annual  Union  Work  Programme  for  European  Standardisation  (AUWP)21 
and the ICT Rolling Plan22. Moreover, a dialogue on standards takes place in various places, 
namely the Committee on Standards23 and the European Multi-stakeholder Platform on ICT 
Standardisation24.  A  modern  system  needs  to  be  based  on  a  single  and  coherent  European 
standardisation policy aligning the different EU policy priorities and instruments. 

To  deliver  this,  the  Commission  considers  it  important  to  align  all  these  instruments  in  a 
comprehensive  annual  governance  cycle  on  EU  standardisation  policy.  Central  to  the  cycle 
will be the adoption  of the AUWP  in  July every year, which, as  of 2017, is  proposed to  be 
preceded  by  an  inter-institutional  dialogue  in  spring  to  ensure  the  full  involvement  of  the 
European Parliament and of the Council, and the European Economic and Social Committee 
as well as the Committee of the Regions. The dialogue will be based on a single report from 
the  Commission  to  the  Council  and  European  Parliament  on  the  implementation  of  the 
AUWP,  the  ICT  Standardisation  Priorities  for  the  Digital  Single  Market,  the  JIS  and  the 
development of European service standards.  

Moreover,  to  further  enhance  the  evidence  base  of  this  report  and  as  requested  by  the 
Council25,  the  Commission  will  launch  an  EU-wide  study  on  the  economic  impact  of 
standardisation to complement national studies. 

Together with the April ICT Standards Communication and with the Joint Initiative, today's 
standardisation  package  lays  down  a  coherent  Commission  vision  on  the  role  of 
standardisation in support of policy making. It is made up of the following documents: 

1.  The  Annual  Union  Work  Programme  for  European  Standardisation  2017: 
identifying strategic priorities and objectives for European standardisation, taking 
into account the EU’s long-term strategies for jobs and growth such as the action 

21 The AUWP, according to Article 8 of Regulation (EU)1025/2012, identifies strategic priorities for European standardisation, taking into 
account Union long-term strategies for growth. It shall indicate the European standards and European standardisation deliverables that the 
Commission intends to request from the European standardisation organisations.  
22  Document  elaborated  yearly  by  the  Commission,  in  cooperation  with  the  European  Multi-Stakeholder  Platform  on  ICT  Standardisation 
that provides a multi-annual overview of the needs for preliminary or complementary ICT standardisation activities to undertake in support 
of the EU policy activities. 
23 Article 22 of Regulation (EU)1025/2012 
24  The  MSP  was  set  up  by  Commission  Decision  of  28  November  2011  -  setting  up  the  European  multi-stakeholder  platform  on  ICT 
standardisation  (2011/C  349/04).  It  is  an  advisory  group  to  the  Commission  on  matters  related  to  ICT  standardisation  policy.  It  includes 
Member States, European, international and global standardisation bodies, industry and societal representatives. 
25 Council conclusions March 2015 

10 

 
 
  
 
                                                            
plan on circular economy26, and indicating the European standards and European 
standardisation  deliverables  that  the  Commission  intends  to  request  from  the 
European standardisation organisations in 2017. 

2.  The  “Article  24  Report”  and  REFIT  Document  setting  out  evidence  on  the 
functioning of the ESS and supporting the policy developments under the JIS. 
3.  Service  Standards  Staff  Working  Document:  "Tapping  the  potential  of 

European service standards to help Europe's consumers and businesses". 

5. Conclusion  

As  a  follow-up  of  the  Single  Market  Strategy,  in  the  present  standardisation  package  the 
Commission  presents  a  coherent  vision  which  aims  at  creating  new  momentum  for 
standardisation in support of EU policy making, aligning with the rapidly changing economic 
landscape  and  the  blurring  frontiers  between  manufacturing,  digital  and  services.  The  first 
action  in  this  regard  is  the  agreement  reached  on  the  Joint  Initiative  on  Standardisation,  to 
better  interconnect  with  the  different  actors  in  the  European  standardisation  system,  with  a 
common goal: to deliver on the Commission priorities and contribute to jobs and growth in 
the EU. Being based on a holistic approach to standardisation, this vision integrates also the 
recently adopted ICT Standards Communication. 

The  Commission  invites  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  and  the  European 
Economic  and  Social  Committee  as  well  as  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  to  endorse  this 
Communication and the accompanying documents with a view to contribute to complete the 
Single  Market  and  to  actively  engage  in  its  implementation,  in  close  cooperation  with  all 
relevant stakeholders.  

26 COM(2015) 614 final, 2 December 2015 

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Annex I: The proposal of the Joint Initiative for a first draft set of actions, accompanied 
with pilot projects: 

1.  Awareness, Education and Understanding about the European Standardisation System 

1)  Study on the economic and societal impacts as well as access to standards in the 

EU and EFTA 

2)  Linking research and innovation with standardisation 
3)  Programmes  for  education 

in  standardisation/Training  and  awareness  on 

standardisation 

4)  Improvement  of  standardisation  awareness  at  national  public  authorities  level 

specifically 

5)  Pilot Project: Enhance the support of standardisation to the Construction Products 

Regulation (CPR) 

2.  Coordination, Cooperation, Transparency and Inclusiveness 

6)  Standards Market Relevance Roundtable (“SMARRT”) 
7)  Optimisation of operational aspects of Regulation (EU)1025/2012 
8)  Provide high-quality standards delivered and referenced in a timely manner 
9)  Inclusiveness,  transparency  &  effective  participation  of  all  stakeholders  in  the 

European Standardisation System 

10) Facilitating participation of all stakeholders at national level 
11) Pilot  Project:  Increased  use  of  standards  in  Public  Procurement  and  a  better 

compliance with the public procurement Directives 

3.  Competitiveness and International dimension  

12) Encouraging  the  greater  development  and  use  of  European  service  standards  to 

help integrate Europe’s service markets 

13) Promote the European regulatory model supported by voluntary standards and its 

close link to international standardisation in third countries 

14) Modernisation,  including  digitalisation,  of  the  European  industry  in  a  global 

context 

15) Pilot  Project:  Improve  the  representation  of  European  SMEs  and  societal 

stakeholders' interests in international standardisation processes 

None of the actions shall have an additional impact on the EU budget; however, financing can 
be considered eligible under the current multi-annual financial perspectives.  

12