COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Tapping the potential of European service standards to help Europe's consumers and businesses Accompanying the document 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, provision of services, service, single market, standardisation

EN 

   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 1.6.2016  SWD(2016) 186 final   Standardisation package COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Tapping the potential of European service standards to help Europe's consumers  and businesses Accompanying the document 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 {COM(2016) 358 final}  
 
 
I. 

INTRODUCTION 

Europe's  service  markets  could  and  should  be  at  the  heart  of  Europe's  economic  revival.  
Opening  up  markets  for  service  providers  would  create  more  opportunities  for  those 
businesses to expand, and increase competition, leading to higher quality and better offer for 
consumers.  It would also enable service providers to play a full role in global value chains, 
and  make  it  easier  for  European  manufacturers  to  offer  services  with  their  products,  with 
benefits felt across the European economy. 

Yet European service providers and manufacturers still face too many barriers to cross-border 
service  provision.  Only  6%  of  Europe's  services  are  traded  cross  border,  against  22%  for 
goods.  The European Commission's Single Market Strategy1 therefore  announced a range of 
measures to deliver an integrated European services market through various initiatives.   

Amongst these was promoting the greater development and use of European service standards.  
These could contribute to services market integration in the same way that product standards 
have  done  for  the  goods  market  over  the  past  thirty  years.    Yet  the  development  of  such 
service standards has been much more limited. According to some estimates, they account for 
only 2% of all EU standards  even though the EU services sector contributes to almost 70% of 
EU GDP.   

Furthermore, there have been increasing calls from industry, consumer associations and other 
stakeholders for a  European  action on service  standards,  most  notably  in the 2014 report  of 
the  High  Level  Group  on  Business  Services2 as  well  as  from  national  standard  setters3 and 
CEN4, whose strategy to address European standardisation in the field of services is due for 
completion by the end of 2016. 

This  Staff  Working  Document  responds  to  those  issues  and  calls.  It  is  in  line  with  the 
principles set out in the wider Communication on standardisation "European standards for the 
21st  Century".    It  examines  the  specific  challenges  for  service  standards,  and  sets  out  a 
general  framework  and  practical  policy  solutions  to  address  their  specificities.  It  is  without 
prejudice  to  the  European  Standardisation  Regulation  1025/2012 5  which  sets  the  legal 
framework  for  a  long  standing  partnership  between  EU,  Member  States,  standardisation 
organisations and bodies, social and societal stakeholders, and users of standards. 

1 Communication  from  the  Commission  Upgrading  the  Single  Market:  more  opportunities  for  people  and 

business, COM(2015) 550 final; http://ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market/index_en.htm  

2 http://ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market/services/business-services/index_en.htm  
3 e.g. the 2015 German standardization roadmap on services available at www.din.de 
4 CEN (European Committee for Standardisation) 
5  OJ L 316, 14.11.2012, p. 12 

2 

 
 
 
 
                                                            
II.  WHY A EUROPEAN APPROACH ON SERVICE STANDARDS IS NEEDED 

A. 

Understanding service standards 

According to Article 2(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of the European Pparliament and 
of the Council of 25 October 2012 on European standardisation, a standard means a technical 
specification  adopted  by  a  recognised  standardisation  body,  for  repeated  or  continuous 
application  with  which  compliance  is  not  compulsory.  A  technical  specification  means  a 
document that prescribes technical requirements to be fulfilled by a product, process, service 
or system.  

A  service  standard  is  a  standard  that  specifies  requirements  to  be  fulfilled  by  a  service  to 
establish  its  fitness  for  purpose 6 .  Service  standards  can  include  specific  measurable 
requirements  on  the  service  itself  as  well  as  organisation  procedures  in  place  that  could  be 
applied repeatedly or continuously to ensure that the defined service level is reached, e.g. by 
providing  definitions,  indicators  of  service  quality  and  their  levels  or  specifying  time  of 
delivery, such as the standard on handling customer complaints7.  

It does not necessarily cover all of a service: it can cover a part or specific aspect only, such 
as  providing  information  to  customers 8.  Setting  standards  for  part  of  the  service  may  be 
relevant  for  areas  where  standardising  the  core  service  might  be  difficult  or  would  not  be 
beneficial,  for  example  when  the  core  service  is  strongly  dependent  on  a  personal  relation 
between the service provider and the service recipient. 

It can also allow for additional information to be provided to customers and establish service 
levels or categories, allowing service providers to differentiate themselves and innovate, such 
as the standard on achieving customer delight through service excellence9.  

Service standards can be established at national level by national standards bodies (NSB), at 
European level by the European Standardisation Organisations: CEN, CENELEC or ETSI10, 
or at international level (by ISO11). 

Service standards can be of a sectoral or horizontal nature.   

6  Whilst  this  definition  covers  standards  developed  on  the  provision  of  Information  and  Communication 
Technology (ICT), these issues have been extensively covered in the April 2016 Communication "ICT 
Standardisation Priorities for the Digital Single Market" COM(2016) 176/2 so these are not the focus of 
this [Communication]. 

7 ISO 10002:2014 
8 For example CEN/TS 15511:2008 on information available on postal services 
9 DIN SPEC 77224 
10 CENELEC (European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation), ETSI (European Telecommunications 

Standards Institute) 

11 International Organisation for Standardisation 

3 

 
 
                                                            
Sectoral  service  standards  are  standards  designed  and  implemented  for  use  by  a  specific 
industry sector or business type or at organisations active in an individual sector . They cover 
elements such as quality of service and best practices, terms and definitions, or processes. 

Horizontal service standards are designed to be relevant to service operators or organisations 
regardless of business type, industry sector, size or locality, and they focus on aspects that are 
common to all or at least most service sectors . 

There  are  many  commonalities  between  goods  and  service  standards.    Both  are  voluntary, 
market-driven,  based  on  consensus  and  developed  according  to  the  same  process.  But  there 
are important differences, such as the fact that services often involve a more human element,  
are  an  interactive  process  and  their  quality  depends  on  the  performance  of  the  person(s) 
providing  the  service  and  the  perceptions  of  the  customers  and  that  services  specifications 
often concern processes rather than technical specifications.   

The development of European service standards has been relatively recent and limited. While 
there are different estimations of the exact number, according to the preliminary results of an 
exercise carried out by CEN , there are currently only around 100 European standardisation 
documents compared to almost 500 national ones. This constitutes less than 20% of all service 
standards. Service standards account for only 1-2% of all European standards.   

This may be due to a number of factors. On the one hand, service markets are less integrated 
at EU level than goods markets and sector-specific EU legislation for services is limited to a 
few sectors12 and it does not often refer to standards to help ensure compliance. On the other 
hand,  contacts  with  stakeholders  highlighted  that  there  may  be  a  lack  of  awareness  in  the 
services sector of the potential of service standards, together with businesses’ concerns over 
what exactly service standards entail, the costs involved, and how they will be developed.  

Nevertheless,  where  European  service  standards  have  been  developed,  they  have  mostly 
found  wide  market  acceptance  and  use13.    A  201214 survey  showed  that  businesses  see  the 
benefits of service standardisation mostly in service quality improvements and the ability to 
demonstrate  it  to  customers.  Service  standards  were  also  seen  by  the  respondents  as 
enhancing  understanding  and  communication  through  common  definitions/terminology, 
improved contractual relationships and improved transparency of service.  The benefits were 
felt more often by small companies. 

12 E.g. postal services 
13  

14  

For  instance,  there  has  been  wide  uptake  of  standards  on  public  transport,  facility  management  and 
maintenance services. 
Study  on  the  implementation  of  service  standards  and  their  impact  on  service  providers  and  users, 
Technopolis, 2012 

4 

 
 
                                                            
Question:  Please  indicate  whether  the  use  of  this  standard  has  impacted  your  organisation  in  a  positive  or 
negative way 

The  increased  development  and  use  of  voluntary  European  service  standards  would  foster 
cross-border service provision and service markets integration and help tap the potential of the 
services  sector  for  the  European  economy.  Moreover,  they  would  help  bring  down  barriers 
from the use of national service standards and certification schemes.  

B. 

Using service standards to tap the potential of the services sector 

The role of service standards was recognised by the 2006 Services Directive15 and taken into 
account  by  the  EU  legislator  with  the  adoption  of  Regulation  n°  1025/2012  whose  scope 
comprises  standards  for  services 16 .  European  service  standards  can  contribute  to  the 
development of the EU services market17 in various ways.  

First, they can raise quality, including safety, and act as an incentive to meet minimum levels 
(and  go  beyond)  e.g.  Spanish  standards  for  public  passenger  transport18 .  These  standards 
include  minimum  quality  requirements,  cover  facilities  and  service  delivery,  define 
terminology and propose methods to measure and monitor quality. 

Second, service standards help improve transparency, communication and interoperability by 
setting  commonly  agreed  definitions  as  well  as  defining  requirements  for  the  service 

15  

16  
17  

18  

Article 26(5) states that: 
"Member  States,  in  cooperation  with  the  Commission,  shall  encourage  the  development  of  voluntary 
European standards with the aim of facilitating compatibility between services supplied by providers in 
different Member States, information to the recipient and the quality of service provision." 
Cf. Article 1 and Recital 10.  
As  reported  in  the  Modernised  Standards  System  Communication,  studies  show  that  the  impact  of 
(goods and services) standards on annual GDP growth could range from 0.3 to 1 percentage point. 
UNE-EN13816:2003  "Transport.  Logistics  and  services.  Public  passenger  transport.  Definition  of 
service  quality,  objectives  and  measurements"  and  a  series  of    three  UNE  152001:2007  standards 
establishing a service quality reference in the implementation of the UNE-EN 13816 

5 

 
 
 
                                                            
provision. An example is a recent French standard on thalassotherapy19, which establishes a 
definition for the main service and for the associated ones. They can also specify provisions 
and  procedures  aimed  at  improving  relationships  between  a  service  provider  and  buyer,  for 
example  in  the  maintenance  of  financial  services  customer  data,  which  helps  companies 
demonstrate that due processes are in place.   

Third, they can reduce costs and open up markets for businesses, reducing operating burdens, 
such as in the area of facility management20. 

Fourth,  there  are  benefits  from  the  positive  signal  that  a  company's  adoption  of  a  standard 
sends  to  its  customers  and  competitors,  which  increases  confidence  in  cross-border 
transactions  and  makes  it  more  likely  that  they  take  place.    This  is  particularly  useful  for 
SMEs  and  start-ups  who  often  lack  the  expertise  to  work  out  certain  processes  or 
requirements and who might not have the brand recognition of more established corporates.  

Fifth,  service  standards  can  help  open  up  markets  where  services  are  closely  linked  to 
products such as after-sales services or high-value innovative services. This linked provision 
(often  referred  to  as  'servitisation'  or  'servicification')  is  increasing  rapidly,  spurred  by 
advanced  digital  technology.    However,  even  when  linked  to  harmonised  goods,  these 
services  are  generally  not  covered  by  the  relevant  product  standards.  In  such  areas  where 
services  are  provided  alongside  goods  –  and  especially  those  where  the  service  becomes 
effectively  indispensable  to  the  provision  of  the  good  –  the  absence  of  an  agreed  service 
standard can mean that the sale of the good itself is restricted in practice or is made difficult, 
which may raise its price.   

Sixth,  in  some  cases,  demonstrating  conformity  with  service  standards  can  provide  service 
providers with the most efficient way to comply with requirements set out in national or  EU 
legislation. 

These benefits are felt not just by companies of all sizes, but by their clients and customers, 
for  whom  they  provide  greater  safety,  security  and  reliability.    European  service  standards 
also benefit public authorities for many of the same reasons, giving them reassurance about 
the quality and safety of service provided by entrants to their market.  They can be helpful for 
public  procurement  procedures,  because  they  can  enable  procurers  to  define  their  service 
requirements  precisely,  whilst  giving  foreign  bidders  the  opportunity  to  show  that  they 
comply.   

C. 

Barriers faced by European service providers 

Despite  these  benefits,  a  number  of  barriers  involving  national  service  standards  and 
certification schemes were referred to in a recent stakeholder consultation exercise. One out of 
five  companies  claimed  that  they  had  experienced  problems  linked  specifically  to  service 

19  
20  

XP X50-844 of December 2014, Thalassotherapy – Requirements for service delivery 
EN 15221-2:2006 Guidance on how to prepare Facility Management agreements 

6 

 
 
                                                            
standards  and  certificates  when  providing  or  trying  to  provide  services  in  another  Member 
State. 21  

Such barriers emerge when companies wishing to establish or to provide cross-border services 
abroad have to comply with different requirements.  A 2012 study on services certification22 
identified 16 sub-areas of services where two or more certification schemes were operating 
that linked to standards at different level (national, European, international) and/or in different 
countries. In some cases, more than ten schemes were identified in the same sub-area, and in 
some sub-areas, schemes were identified in as many as seven different countries.  

There are two types of barriers resulting from standards and certificates: 

First, national and local authorities may require foreign companies to comply with national 
standards and/or to obtain a national certificate based on a national certification scheme as a 
condition for access to their market. They may do so even if the companies already carry a 
certificate for the same activity issued in their home Member State or were otherwise 
subjected to similar requirements there. In certain cases, even when an undertaking already 
complies with a European standard, it may need to carry the costs and the burden of re-
certification in one or several host Member States. This is particularly burdensome for SMEs. 

Second, standards can in certain cases act as barriers to market access even when there are no 
formal  requirements.  The  existence  and  proliferation  of  national  service  standards  and 
national certification schemes can make it harder for service providers from another country 
to enter a market where those standards or certifications are widespread and compliance with 
such  standards  or  certification  schemes  is  expected  by  the  customer,  purchaser  or  financing 
entity.  

A  further  complication  arises  where  the  service  is  linked  to  a  product,  even  where  an 
European  standard  for  the  product  exists,  Member  States  may  ask  for  additional  national 
certification  to  provide  the  related  service.  For  example,  a  security  system  provider  might 
comply  with  all  the  technical  specifications  and  product  standards  required  for  the  cross-
border  sale  of  the  system,  but  in  the  absence  of  a  complementary  European  standard  for 
installation  or  maintenance,  face  a  variety  of  restrictions  and  national  requirements  for 
certificates.  

Finally,  market  operators  have  difficulties  identifying  and  understanding  often  inconsistent 
national requirements for the provision of services. 

III.  THE WAY FORWARD 

To support the development and use of European service standards and to address the issues 
highlighted above, the Commission services propose a mix of actions aiming at  

21 Carried out in the frame of 2014 Single Market Forum exercise 
22 Technopolis "A study on services certification linked to service standards at national level in Europe", 2012 

7 

 
 
                                                            
A.  An enhanced approach to the prioritisation and development of European service 
standards based on a framework for the monitoring of national service standards;  

B.  Reduction of related national obstacles; and 
C.  More effective information to service providers. 

A. 

A framework for the development of European service standards 

For  all  types  of  standards,  the  initiative  for  their  introduction  at  European  level  lies  largely 
with  stakeholders  and  national  standardisation  bodies,  in  cooperation  with  European 
Standardisation  Organisations  (ESOs).  Nevertheless,  in  certain  cases  the  Commission  may 
request ESOs in accordance with Regulation 1025/2012, to develop European standards in a 
particular  area.  The  Commission  has  already  done  so  for  the  development  of  horizontal 
service standards, will monitor their development and will review whether there is a case for 
the  development  of  new  horizontal  standards.  It  can  also  ask  standard  setters  to  consider 
developing standards in a particular area even without a formal mandate. 

To  spur  a  greater  development  of  European  service  standards,  there  would  be  benefit  in  an 
additional set of steps. With the support of the Commission, CEN has already embarked on a 
comprehensive  mapping  of  European,  international  and  national  service  standards.    This 
detailed list of standards should be completed by the end of 2016 and should be updated on a 
constant basis.  

Building on this, the Commission services propose the following steps: 

i.  In  cooperation  with  stakeholders  and  the  Commission,  on  an  annual  basis  CEN  could 
provide  an  overview  of  such  standards,  and  complement  it  with  an  analysis  of  national 
standardisers'  work  programmes.  Such  a  systematic  monitoring  process  could  allow  the 
ESOs,  the  Commission  and  stakeholders  to  spot  areas  of  conflict  or  duplication  between 
existing  national  service  standards  as  well  as  areas  where  one  or  more  national  bodies  are 
developing  new  national  standards  and  where  there  could  be  conflict  or  duplication.  This 
exercise could also help detect potential gaps where no standards are being developed despite 
it being a clear European policy priority (e.g. on product-service packages).  

ii. On this basis, CEN would issue an annual list of areas of potential conflict or duplication 
between national service standards or where there are potential gaps where European service 
standards  could  be  developed.  The  Commission  services  will  carry  out  an  independent 
analysis  of  whether  there  are  areas  of  conflict  or  duplication  between  national  service 
standards  or  where  there  are  potential  policy  gaps  with  respect  to  the  ten  Commission 
Priorities.   It will report on an annual basis  as  part  of the regular reporting to  the European 
Parliament and the Council on the implementation of EU standardisation policy announced in 
the 'European Standards for the 21st Century' Communication. 

These  two  reports  would  then  be  reviewed  by  all  relevant  parties  and  would  be  a  basis  to 
identify specific areas where a European standard could be developed.  

iii.  These  areas  would  then  need  to  be  prioritised  on  an  annual  basis.    To  assist  this,  and 
within the existing governance process, the Commission services propose to the ESOs a set of 
criteria designed to ask the following key questions:  

8 

 
 
Is a European standard needed?  

 
  How should such a standard be developed?  
  Once in use, does the standard meet its stated objectives?  

A draft set of criteria is presented in Table 1 below.  These criteria can be further refined in 
discussion  with  relevant  parties.  This  analysis  could  inform  decisions  on  actions  to  be 
included in the AUWP as well as ESOs own work programmes. In making their choice, the 
Commission  and  standard  setters  should  be  mindful  of  the  need  to  allow  for  differentiation 
and  innovation,  and  should  be  particularly  attentive  to  issues  involving  product-service 
packages. The Commission will set out its views on priorities in the AUWP. 

iv.  If  it  were  clear  that  a  European  standard  would  be  beneficial,  a  targeted  and  prompt 
development of such a standard should take place23, either as a sector-specific standard or a 
horizontal  one.  In  some  areas,  a  further  option  might  be  a  hybrid  combination:  a horizontal 
service standard with sectoral add-ons, or a pool of parallel sector-specific standards.  

Table 1. Draft criteria to prioritise European service standards 

Justification 

What are the goals of the standard (raise service quality, improve communication and 
interoperability between businesses and their clients)? 
What problems (the scope, the scale and the areas) could the standard address and how?  

European policy dimension 

Are there conflicting national standards? Would a European service standard add value 
to the existing situation? 
How would the possible standard support EU policies and contribute to cross-border 
service provision and the development of the services Single Market? 
In particular, how would it: 

reduce or remove barriers to trade in services?  

 
  Specifically make cross-border service provision easier? 
 

support an area prioritised as being of particular importance for the Single 
Market?  

  help the provision of product-service packages? 
  help comply with EU regulatory requirements? 
 

contribute to better quality and/or safety of services provided in the EU, either 
by addressing the service quality directly or indirectly through allowing a 
service provider to streamline certain activities and reallocate resources to focus 
on their core activity area?  

  Support accessibility policies for persons with disabilities and older persons? 
 
improve cross-border transparency, communication and/or interoperability? 
  help improve the performance and innovativeness of the service sector and 

hence improve its competitiveness?  

  Facilitate cross-border public procurement? 
  help achieve public policy objectives, such as protection of health, safety, or the 

Stakeholder involvement 

environment?  

Which stakeholders would mainly be affected by the possible standard? How would the 
standard affect SMEs and consumers?  

23 in the frame of the processes described more in detail in the Modernised Standards System Communication 

9 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
Would relevant stakeholders support and use the possible standard?  
Are relevant stakeholders organised in a way that would enable them to be represented 
in the standardisation process? Would they be willing to take part?  
How will SME involvement be ensured? 
Would the topic and the scope be relevant for civil society organisations? Would they 
be willing and capable to be involved? 

Costs and benefits of a European standard 

What are the expected costs and benefits of the possible standard?  
Would a possible overall net benefit of a standard be higher than for other solutions? 

Particular attention should be paid to areas of product-service provision. In the framework of 
its  normal  activity,  CEN  could  carry  out  research  to  identify  whether  there  are  any  areas 
where this is being impeded by the absence of linked product and service standards. 

B. 

Tackling barriers faced by European service providers 

Mutual recognition and equivalence assessment 

It is the responsibility of Member States to ensure that their national legislative framework is 
in line with all Single Market legislation and notably with the Services Directive, Professional 
Qualifications Directive and the mutual recognition principle.  

When Member States consider using standards in national authorisation schemes for service 
providers established in their territory, they should explore the option of a European standard. 
Should  this  option  be  excluded  and  the  authorisation  scheme  requires  compliance  with 
national standards or certification schemes, the authorities should take into account equivalent 
standards  or  certifications  obtained  in  another  Member  State.  These  principles  are  clearly 
stated  in  provisions  of  the  Services  Directive  and  in  particular  Articles  9  and  10.  Notably, 
Article 10(3) of the Services Directive says that he conditions for granting authorisation for a 
new  establishment  shall  not  duplicate  requirements  and  controls  which  are  equivalent  or 
essentially  comparable  as  regards  their  purpose  to  which  the  provider  is  already  subject  in 
another Member State or in the same Member State. 

As regards cross-border service providers, Article 16 states that Member States shall not make 
access  to  or  exercise  of  a  service  activity  in  their  territory  subject  to  compliance  with  any 
requirements  (including  certification)  which  are  not  justified  for  reasons  of  public  policy, 
public  security,  public  health  or  the  protection  of  the  environment,  are  not  proportionate 
and/or  are  discriminatory.  As  a  result,  whenever  sector  specific  legislation  provides  for 
authorisation  or  certification  schemes  at  national  level,  Member  States  must  ensure  that 
service providers authorised  or  certified in  other Member States  can provide services cross-
border  in  the  territory  on  the  basis  of  the  authorisation  or  accreditation  obtained  in  their 
Member  State  of  establishment,  unless  requiring  compliance  with  the  national  certification 
requirement is proportionate and can be justified under the above-mentioned four overriding 
reasons. In  the event that a certification requirement can  be imposed  on these  grounds on a 
cross-border  service  provider,  national  authorities  would  also  need  to  take  account  of  the 
principle  of  mutual  recognition  when  assessing  whether  the  provider  established  in  another 
Member State and therefore subject perhaps to similar requirements there complies with the 
conditions required for the certification. 

10 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
When  a  European  standard  exists,  situations  should  be  avoided  where  certificates  covering 
European  standards  are  not  the  same  across  the  EU  because  a  national  certification  scheme 
embraces additional specifications on top of those included in European standards. 

The Commission is committed to a more ambitious implementation of the Services Directive 
as part of stronger enforcement of EU law and a renewed culture of compliance. 

Building from this, the Commission will explore further measures. The forthcoming initative 
to  introduce  a  "services  passport"  for  key  sectors  of  the  economy  such  as  construction  will 
facilitate the verification and confirmation by the authorities of service providers' compliance 
with  standards  required  in  particular  Member  States.  For  standards  relevant  for  gaining 
market access to the host Member State, specific equivalence assessment mechanisms are also 
envisaged. As regards service standards in particular, in 2017 the Commission will launch a 
targeted  review  to  gather  information  on  existing  rules  and  practices  for  authorisations 
concerning standards and certificates as well as the assessment of equivalence of requirements.  
Where  relevant,  this  work  will  complement  the  Commission  initiatives  in  the  area  of 
professional qualifications or in specific service sectors.  

Such  a  review  will  in  particular  aim  at  mapping  existing  obstacles  to,  and  problems  with, 
equivalence  assessment  and  identify  solutions.    It  will  help  indicate  least  burdensome 
practices as well as clarify how any equivalence assessment should be carried out by public 
authorities. 

Addressing de facto obstacles resulting from national standards and certificates 

Where the barrier comes from the fact that a national standard or certificate is widespread and 
expected  in  a  market  (rather  than  required  for  authorisation)  without  being  required  in  any 
authorisation or similar procedure, development of a European service standard should also be 
considered. 

Building on the CEN work on mapping and focusing on  areas where national standards and 
certificates  are  widely  used  (either  in  particular  sectors  or  in  terms  of  their  geographical 
coverage) the European Commission will consider issuing mandates for European standards. 

C. Improved awareness and information 

The  Communication  "European  standards  for  the  21st  Century"  points  to  the  lack  of 
awareness, education and understanding of the European Standardisation System and the Joint 
Initiative  on  Standards  seeks  to  foster  the  education  and  awareness  building  of  the 
competitiveness potential  of standards. This is even more true for services standards than for 
other types of standards.  The Commission and the standardisation community should in their 
intitives for awareness raising pay particular attention to service standards. 

Also, As noted in Section II above, businesses often find it difficult to get clear information 
on service standards and certification requirements in another Member State.   

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As part of the Commission's Digital Single Market Strategy, the Commission is working on 
"extending and integrating European and national portals to work towards a 'Single Digital 
Gateway' to create a user friendly information system for citizens and business"24. The Single 
Digital Gateway could also include information on standards and certificates or provide a link 
to  NSB  websites.    This  would  cover  existing  standards  or  certificates,  as  well  as  the  likely 
future development of new European and national service standards.  

IV. 

EXPECTED OUTCOME 

The above approach is designed to fit within the wider changes to modernise and reinvigorate 
Europe's  standards  system  set  out  in  the  Communication  "European  standards  for  the  21st 
Century".    It  is  also  designed  to  contribute  to  the  wider  measures  on  integrating  Europe's 
service markets  set out  in  the Single Market Strategy.  In doing  so, it will contribute to  the 
EU's wider policy priorities and lead to tangible improvements for European consumers and 
companies especially SMEs.  

The Commission will review the results of all this work on a regular basis and if necessary, 
will  refine  or  expand  the  approach  or  propose additional  measures.    It  will  also  continue  to 
gather data and evidence.  

24 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and 
Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions:A  Digital  Single  Market  Strategy  for  Europe, 
COM(2015)  192  final,  available  at:  http://ec.europa.eu/priorities/digital-single-market/docs/dsm-
communication_en.pdf  

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