COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS The annual Union work programme for European standardisation for 2019
Date: 2018-10-11
Institutions: Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, European Commission
Subjects: European security, European standardisation body, action programme, circular economy, energy policy, institutional cooperation, international cooperation, public-private partnership, single market, standardisation

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 11.10.2018 COM(2018) 686 final  COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS The annual Union work programme for European standardisation for 2019 {SWD(2018) 434 final}  
 
 
1. 

Introduction 

Standards are indispensable instruments for the proper functioning of the single market. They 
support  higher  economic  growth  by  removing  the  barriers  that  prevent  innovative, 
competitive products and services entering markets and by expanding trade to new markets. 
Standards  improve  the  compatibility,  quality  and  performance  of  products  and  services, 
offering manufacturers a stable basis for investing in new technologies and the digitisation of 
processes. Standards also enable manufacturers to manage the transition to low carbon energy 
resources, engaging in global value chains and add service components to products. 

The key to maximising the positive impact of standardisation is to develop synergies inside 
the European standardisation system, taking into account also the international dimension of 
standardisation.  The  synergies  need  to  include  SMEs  and  start-ups,  thus  strengthening 
innovation and technology within the internal market. 

The  Commission  is  pursuing  its  overarching  objective  of  smart,  sustainable  and  inclusive 
growth through actions identified in its annual work programmes. European standards have a 
major  supportive  role  in  many  of  these  actions,  as  they  facilitate  the  implementation  of 
relevant  legislation  by  offering  presumption  of  conformity  to  its  essential  requirements.  In 
addition, standards provide interoperability between a number of sectors like in ICT allowing 
the  development  of  new  technologies,  applications  and  services  and  supporting  European 
growth and competitiveness. 

Beyond  the  harmonised  standards  formally  requested  by  the  Commission  to  support  a 
legislative act, there is also a whole set of European standards and European standardisation 
deliverables  developed  by  the  European  Standardisation  Organisations1  (ESOs).  These 
standards may not be formally requested, but are still required to support the implementation 
of  Commission  policies.  This  2019  annual  Union  work  programme  for  European 
standardisation (AUWP) identifies some of the main policy areas relevant from this point of 
view:  energy,  circular  economy,  defence,  security,  the  internal  market,  the  digital  single 
market. It sets out the strategic priorities for European standardisation in support of both EU 
legislation and policies.  The AUWP also places these strategic priorities in a broader context 
of international cooperation on standardisation.  

The European standardisation system is based on a unique system of privileged public-private 
partnership  between  the  Commission  and  the  ESOs  reflecting  the  provisions  of  Regulation 
(EU)  No  1025/20122.    The  2019  AUWP  defines  the  key  orientations  for  the  future 
developments of this partnership, including the important principle of inclusiveness. 

1 CEN — European Committee for Standardisation, CENELEC — European Committee for Electrotechnical 
Standardisation and ETSI — European Telecommunications Standards Institute 
2 Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on 
European standardisation. 

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Since  the  adoption  of  the  Communication  on  European  standards  for  the  21st  century3,  the 
Commission has worked closely with its partners from the industry, public authorities, non-
governmental  organisations  and  academia  to  implement  the  initiatives  proposed  by  the 
Communication,  including  a  governance  cycle  strengthening  the  dialogue  with  the  EU  co-
legislators and the development of the Joint Initiative on Standardisation4 (JIS). The JIS will 
conclude  its  work  in  2019  and  the  AUWP  proposes  areas  of  focus  for  its  final  year  of 
implementation.  

This  work  programme  has  been  prepared  with  invaluable  input  from  the  inter-institutional 
dialogue,  organised  in  June  2018,  which  brought  together  high-level  representatives  of  the 
standardisation  community,  industry,  the  Commission,  the  European  Parliament,  the 
European  Economic,  the  Social  Committee,  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  and  other 
European standardisation stakeholders  

The event was an opportunity to exchange ideas on strategic issues, provide feedback on the 
Commission  standardisation initiatives and  openly  discuss  future  policy priorities  and ways 
to strengthen the European Standardisation System.  The discussion touched upon a range of 
subjects  including  general  functioning  of  the  standardisation  system,  questions  about  its 
governance process and the orientation of EU standardisation priorities, all within the broader 
international  context  as  well.  The  European  education  system’s  contribution  to  supporting 
new technologies and delivering a new generation of experts was highlighted as a particularly 
important aspect. Also the expert group Multi Stakeholder Platform for ICT standardisation 
(MSP)5 and the Rolling Plan for ICT standardisation were praised as a model for cooperative 
planning and stakeholder engagement. 

The  Commission  explores  to  continue  this  format  in  the  future  while  drawing  important 
lessons from this dialogue. Its outcomes will be used to inform the on-going prioritisation of 
standardisation work and will feed into internal reflections and preparatory actions ahead of 
the report on the implementation of the Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012. This report is to be 
prepared by the Commission and delivered to the European Parliament and to the Council.6 

2.  Strategic priorities for European standardisation in support of Union legislation 

and policies7 

2.1.  Action in support of the digital single market strategy 

Availability  of  ICT  standards  and  technical  specifications,  in  particular  to  provide  for 
interoperability between products, services and devices, is critical to achieve all the benefits 

3 COM(2018)358 
4 C(2016) 3211 
5 https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/european-multi-stakeholder-platform-ict- 
standardisation 
6 In line with the obligation stipulated by Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 Art. 24.3. 
7 see the actions in the SWD accompanying this Communication 

2 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
that the Digital Single Market can deliver. The Commission, in collaboration with European 
and International Standardisation Organisations and other fora and consortia, as well as with 
industrial  and  societal  stakeholders,  have  progressed  in  all  the  priority  areas  and  domains 
identified  in  the  Communication  on  ICT  standardisation  priorities  for  the  Digital  Single 
Market8  ,  as  reported  in  the  Communication  on  the  implementation  of  EU  standardisation 
policy and contribution of the European standards to EU policies9 . 

Digitisation  is  driven by the need  of individual industries to increase their  performance but 
also by the expectations of their clients and suppliers.  It is therefore important to involve not 
only  the  providers  but  also  the  beneficiaries,  including  vulnerable  and  minority  groups  in 
society  like  persons  with  disabilities,  in  elaborating  ICT  standards.    Standardisation  issues 
also  need  to  be  addressed  at  EU  level  in  order  to  ensure  due  consideration  of  relevant 
legislation, such as the EU data protection rules.  

The  standardisation  needs  in  support  of  EU  policies  are  outlined  in  the  annually  updated 
rolling plan for ICT standardisation published by the Commission. The 2018 version of the 
rolling  plan for  ICT  standardisation10  identifies  170  actions  organised  around  four  thematic 
areas:  key  enablers,  societal  challenges,  innovation  for  the  single  market  and  sustainable 
growth.  

Creating the right conditions for digital networks and services to flourish is one of the three 
pillars  of  the  Digital  Single  Market  strategy.  Standardisation  will  support  it  in  2019  by 
focusing  on  Internet  of  Things,  big  data,  blockchain,  cooperative  Intelligent  Transport 
Systems  &  autonomous  driving,  eHealth,  smart  cities,  accessibility,  e-Government  and 
artificial intelligence. Harmonisation in relation to 5G spectrum and availability of the global 
5G standards by the end of 2019, as foreseen in the 5G Action Plan, will promote investments 
in 5G networks and applications.  

Cybersecurity  requirements  should  offer  parallel  protection  from  cyber-attacks  on  the 
software and hardware controlling processes, systems and equipment. The Commission, in its 
2017 proposal for the EU Cybersecurity Act Regulation11  has proposed the creation of an EU 
ICT security certification framework for products and services. Certification schemes will use 
standards  and  technical  specifications  to  both  express  as  well  as  assess  conformity  to 
specified cybersecurity requirements. 

Blockchain technology supports secure and auditable storage of data and reduces transaction 
costs bringing about high levels of traceability and security in economic transactions online. 
Since the system compiles public and private networks, standardisation is needed to provide 
interoperability  between  the  different  configurations  of  blockchain  technology.  On  1st 
February 2018, the Commission launched the EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum, whose 

8 COM(2016) 176 
9 COM(2018) 26 and SWD(2018) 15 
10 http://ec.europa.eu/growth/industry/policy/ict-standardisation_en#rolling_plan_ict_standardisation 
11 COM(2017)477 

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Working  Group  on  Blockchain  Policy  and  Framework  Conditions  will  address,  among 
others, issues on technological and ecosystem developments such as interoperability, where 
standardisation can give solutions. It will also identify any blockchain standardisation needs 
at EU level12.  

Artificial  Intelligence  (AI)  has  a  broad  impact  on  the  economy  and  society  and  in  many 
aspects influences our daily lives. It is necessary to make AI products and services market-
ready and ensure compliance with safety standards13. The European AI Alliance will be the 
European reference platform for thinking and reflection on AI. The Commission is setting up 
a  High-Level  Expert  Group,  which  will  serve  as  the  steering  group  for  the  European  AI 
Alliance's work and will assist with the identification of standardisation needs.  

2.2.  Actions in support of the Energy union and climate 

CO2  emissions  reduction  targets  for  all  types  of  vehicles  aim  to  reduce  greenhouse  gas 
emissions  from  the  transport  sector,  while  ensuring  the  competitiveness  of  the  sector  and 
leading  to  fuel  savings  for  consumers.  Such  targets  can  also  improve  the  air  quality  in  our 
cities and benefit the environment. At the same time, they challenge the automotive industry 
to find ways for reducing fuel consumption. The Commission has set its objectives14 and the 
target for standardisation is to provide standards that will facilitate industry in reducing CO2 
by stimulating innovation and improving vehicles’ efficiency (e.g aerodynamic performance). 

As part of the third mobility package15, the proposed EU Regulation on tyres labelling16 aims 
to contribute to fuel efficiency, safety and noise by providing better information to consumers 
when  they  buy  tyres.  Standards  could  for  example  support  the  development  of  harmonised 
performance tests like ice performance to be included on the label giving consumers a fuller 
picture of the performance of tyres in winter conditions. The proposed Regulation also paves 
the way for potential inclusion of information on tyre abrasion on the label. Tyre abrasion has 
been  identified  as  the  single-most  important  source  of  microplastics  pollution,  but  test 
methods supporting such a policy measure are lacking. 

Finally,  standards  can  be  supportive  at  greening  of  the  shipping  sector  through  the  use  of 
alternative fuels (e.g. LNG made of fossil, biomass or power-to-gas technologies, electricity, 
hydrogen) for waterborne application.  

The  Commission  is  expanding  the  ecodesign  requirements  to  new  categories  of  products: 
pumps,  local  space  heaters,  solid  fuel  local  space  heaters,  air-heating  products,  cooling 

12 The Commission is directly engaged in standardisation through a liaison with ISO Technical Committee 307 
on blockchain and distributed technologies. It also liaises with CEN’s Focus Group on Blockchain and 
Distributed Ledger Technologies, whose original task is to produce an EU white paper on blockchain 
standardisation. It will also identify any blockchain standardisation needs at EU level. 
13 see details in COM(2018) 237 
14 COM(2018)284 
15 https://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/road/news/2018-05-17-europe-on-the-move-3_en 
16 COM(2018)296 

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products, high temperature process chillers and fan coil units air conditioning and batteries. 
In  the  coming  years,  standardisation  is  expected  to  provide  the  technical  specifications 
needed to implement these new requirements.  

2.3.  Action in support of the circular economy action plan 

Safer  traffic,  less  polluting  vehicles and  more  advanced  technological  solutions  support  the 
competitiveness  of  the  EU  industry  while  bringing  clear  benefits  to  its  citizens.  The 
Commission  set  out  a  strategic  Action  Plan17  for  the  development  and  manufacturing  of 
batteries  in  Europe  based  on  the  work  of  the  European  Battery  Alliance.18  Specifically,  the 
Plan  envisages  actions  for  standardisation  to  identify  the  possibility  of  developing  a 
standardised EU life cycle assessment scheme for batteries.  In addition, considerations could 
be given to the role of ecodesign to put  forward sustainability design and use  requirements 
for batteries. In that context, the potential role for European standards for enabling the safe 
and sustainable production, (re-)use and recycling of batteries will be investigated. 

As regards plastics, one of the reasons for the low use of recycled plastics is the misgivings of 
many product brands and manufacturers, who fear that recycled plastics will not meet their 
needs  for  a  reliable,  high-volume  supply  of  materials  with  constant  quality  specifications. 
With this in mind, the development of quality standards for sorted plastic waste and recycled 
plastics  could  facilitate  a  greater  integration  of  recycling  activities  into  the  plastics  value 
chain. Following the identification of standardisation needs19, the Commission will propose 
the  development  of  standards  addressing  the  procedural  and  infrastructure  issues  for 
recycling. In addition, the European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy identifies the 
need to develop methods to assess microplastic losses from inter alia textile sources. A role 
for  the  standardisation  bodies  in  2019  will  be  to  review  and  possibly  elaborate  on  test 
methods  pledged  by  a  Cross  Industry  Agreement20  to  assess  microplastic  release  into  the 
aquatic environment during the washing of synthetic textiles. 

In its recent proposal for a directive to address the impact of certain plastic products on the 
environment  21 the Commission has included a proposal to require that beverage containers 
can only be placed on the market if the caps and lids are tethered to the containers, as caps 
and  lids  are  among  the  most  found  items.  In  view  of  ensuring  a  good  functioning  of  the 
internal market after the entry into force of the directive the Commission has also included 
the  development  of  a  harmonised  standard  in  the  proposal,  which  is  considered  crucial  by 
both Council and the European Parliament. 

17 Annex 2 to COM(2018) 293 
18 The European Battery Alliance (EBA) was launched in October 2017 by Vice President Šefčovič:   
   https://ec.europa.eu/growth/industry/policy/european-battery-alliance_en 
19 Results of the currently executed "ancillary and preliminary action on sustainable chemicals" under Grant  
    Agreement n° CEN/000/2017-05 Sustainable Chemicals 
20 The Agreement is signed by five industry associations: AISE, CIRFS, EOG, EURATEX and FESI. 
21 COM(2018) 340 

5 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
2.4.  Action  in  support  of  a  deeper  and  fairer  internal  market  with  a  strengthened 

industrial base 

Standardisation  is  an  important  pre-requisite  for  a  deeper  and  fairer  internal  market.  The 
development of key technical standards is highly relevant to ensure the interoperability of the 
different  systems  and  can  largely  facilitate  the  uptake  of  innovative  solutions.  The  recently 
adopted Mobility Package to help the transportation sector make a competitive and socially 
fair transition to clean energy and digitalisation sets out a number of initiatives. For example, 
vehicles  platooning  enables  a  group  of  self-driving  vehicles  to  move  safely  by  using 
automated  intelligent  control  systems  that  are  inter-communicative.  In  this  case,  a  lead 
vehicle  controls  the  speed  and  direction  of  all  others  and  is  a  promising  technology  for 
making  our  roads  safer  and  transport  more  efficient.  Standardisation  should  support  the 
implementation of the proposed EU Regulation22 by providing technical specification solving 
the  inter-connection  and  interoperability  needs  of  the  system.  In  parallel,  the  Commission 
will  work  to  address23  the  issues  of  spectrum  to  support  radio  access  technologies  for 
connected and automated mobility in the 5.9 GHz band. 

To  ensure  safe  driving  conditions  in  the  EU  territory  there  has  to  be  convergence  in  the 
design,  building  and  management  of  road 
infrastructure.  Standards  could  foster 
harmonisation  and  knowledge  sharing  between  Member  States  on  the  respected  procedures 
and requirements. 

In  addition,  for  better  safety,  removal  of  technical  barriers  and  rapid  deployment  of 
innovation,  focus  will  continue  to  be  on  setting  new  technical  specifications  for 
interoperability relating to the infrastructure and rolling stock subsystems of the rail system.  

The  completion  of  the  core  network  and  corridors  of  the  Trans-European  Network  for 
Transport (TEN-T) will increase transport capacity in the internal market without increasing 
CO2  emissions.  Standardisation  could  support  solutions  to  ensure  interoperability  and 
communication between the network’s electronic systems. 

In combination with electronic invoicing, electronic freight transport information will make 
the  logistics  sector  more  efficient.  On  electronic  freight  transport  information,  standards 
should make the elaboration of a uniform approach to the acceptance of electronic documents 
easier. 

The  Commission  will  also  request  an  update  of  the  standards  needed  for  inspection  and 
testing of dangerous goods transported across Member states. 

22 COM(2018)286 
23 see details in COM(2018)283 

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2.5.  Action in support of the European defence action plan 

The  European  defence  market  suffers  from  fragmentation  and  insufficient  industrial 
collaboration. Therefore, one of the three measures announced in the Defence Action Plan24 
is to ensure an open and competitive EU single market for defence. European standardisation 
has a proven track record in supporting openness and competition in the internal market. The 
Commission  has  proposed  to  the  European  Defence  Agency  to  start  developing  an  action 
plan for standardisation in the defence area in collaboration with the ESOs. 

2.6.  Action in support of the of the space strategy for Europe 

Deployment of the Galileo system is to be completed by 2020, in parallel to the exploitation 
phase (started in 2017). This means that by that time the Space Segment will have been fully 
deployed  and  all  services  declared  fully  operational.  The  Commission  has  proposed  to  the 
European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency to start developing an action plan for 
standardisation in the area in collaboration with the ESOs. 

2.7.  Action in support of the European agenda on security 

In  order  to  deal  with  the  new  security  challenges,  the  EU  is  funding  research  activities  to 
advance the security technologies at European level. The EU security industrial base is in a 
strong  position  to  deliver  needed  solutions.  However,  this  industry  has  to  overcome  the 
existing fragmentation for the wide uptake of EU funded research outcomes. Standards could 
bridge this gap. They can offer economies of scale and reduce the information asymmetries 
between the supply and the demand sides, with cross-border transactions. 

3. 

International cooperation 

Supporting  the  competitive  position  of  EU  industry  in  the  global  value  chain  and 
strengthening  its  presence  in  international  markets  are  key  conditions  for  creating  jobs  and 
growth  in  Europe,  particularly  in  view  of  the  changing  dynamic  in  the  international  trade 
policies25.  

These  objectives  can  primarily  be  achieved  by  aiming  for  the  greatest  possible  coherence 
between international and European standards, and by promoting the general use of European 
and/or international standards outside the EU.  

In  2019,  the  Commission  will  continue  to  intensify  its  policy  dialogue  with  international 
standardisation  bodies  and  pursue  its  participation  in  relevant  international  fora26.  The 

24 COM(2016) 950 
25 The implications of the changing international dynamics for policy involvement from the Commission (e.g. 
Industrial policy) were among the topics discussed by the June 2018 inter-institutional dialogue on 
standardisation. 
26 Such as the World Trade Organisation and United Nations Committees. 

7 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
Commission  will  also  liaise  with  international  standardisation  organisations  such  as 
ISO/IEC/JTC1/ITU-T and when relevant follow-up its technical committees. 

The  Commission  will  also  promote  European  standardisation  and  contribute  to  chapters  on 
Technical  Barriers  to  Trade  when  negotiating,  elaborating  and  implementing  various 
international  policy  actions,  such  as  Free-Trade  Agreements27,  the  EU/Ukraine  Association 
Agreement28, Eastern Partnership29, EU/African Renewed Partnership30  and the Europe/Asia 
Connectivity process31.  

The Commission will launch a dialogue on standards with the United States in order to ease 
trade, reduce bureaucratic obstacles, and slash costs32. 

Similarly,  the  Commission  will  ensure  continuity  of  visibility  projects,  such  as  the  current 
schemes  for  seconded  European  standardisation  experts  in  China  and  India,  and  the  web-
based  standardisation  platform  with  China33  and  the  projects  related  to  international 
cooperation on ICT standardisation34. The overall objective of such actions is to present the 
European  Standardisation  System  as  an  attractive  alternative  to  other  regional  or  national 
standardisation  arrangements,  provide  standardisation-relevant  intelligence  and  facilitate 
bilateral cooperation on standardisation matters.  

In addition, the actions will support European companies having difficulty gaining access to 
non-EU markets because of standardisation issues. The Commission is planning to renew the 
current  project  in  India  from  mid-2019  until  2022.  The  Commission  will  support  the 
organisation  of  3rd  Generation  Partnership  Project  (3GPP)  meetings  in  Europe  in  order  to 
facilitate the active participation of a broad range of European delegates, from key industrial 
players, including SMEs, academia and research institutions. 

4.  Public-private partnership 

4.1.  Governance 

A  timely  delivery  of  high-quality  standards  requires  continuous  cooperation  and  trust 
building between both sides of the public-private partnership of European standardisation.   
In  particular,  the  quality  of  the  harmonised  standards,  which  provide  presumption  of 
conformity,  require  specific  attention  from  both  sides.  That  type  of  standard  must  meet  the 
recent jurisprudence in this regard, comply with the European Standardisation Regulation and 

27 http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/negotiations-and-agreements/ 
28 OJ L 161, 29.5.2014, p. 3–2137 
29 The Eastern Partnership (EaP) is a joint initiative involving the EU, its Member States and six Eastern 
European Partners: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. 
30 COM(2017) 763 final 
31 JOIN(2018) 31 
32 http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_STATEMENT-18-4687_en.htm 
33 https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/cesip/ 
34 www.indico-ictstandards.eu; www.standict.eu 

8 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
fulfil  the  legal  requirements  of  the  sectorial  legislation  it  covers.  Following  that  recent 
jurisprudence, the Commission will continue to reassess its procedures and share them with 
the stakeholders through the Joint Initiative on Standardisation launched in 2016 and through 
the  Action  Plan  on  referencing  harmonised  standards  that  was  agreed  between  the 
Commission  and  the  ESOs  in  201735.  The  ESOs  are  invited  to  give  the  highest  priority  to 
addressing  the  non-referenced  harmonised  standards  in  order  to  meet  the  high-quality 
standards required by the market and the legislator and to ensure a timely referencing in the 
OJEU. 

To implement that Action Plan, in 2019 the Commission will focus on further consolidating 
the new system of consultants on harmonised standards that was implemented in 2018. The 
system  was  set  up  to  verify  and  assess  the  quality  of  draft-harmonised  standards  and  their 
conformity to the corresponding Union legislation and policies. 

The  Commission  will  continue  to  support  the  governance  process  through  its  regular 
structural  dialogues  with  the  ESOs.  This  is  proving  to  be  a  useful  framework  for  the  early 
resolution of obstacles and the effective implementation of agreed actions. 

4.2.  Inclusiveness 

The  Commission  reiterates  its  invitation  to  ESOs,  national  standardisation  bodies36  and 
Annex III organisations (SBS, ANEC, ETUC and ECOS)37 to continue their efforts to ensure 
stakeholder  participation  and  to  step  up  their  cooperation,  if  necessary  by  adapting  their 
internal rules and procedures. 

The Commission intends to demonstrate the favourable impact of inclusiveness on the quality 
of European standardisation and its ability to achieve state-of-the-art deliverables, capable of 
boosting  business  competitiveness  while  taking  into  account  the  needs  of  small  businesses 
and civil society. The Commission will therefore ask SBS, representing small businesses in 
European  standardisation, 
to  provide  concrete  examples  demonstrating  how  SME 
participation in standardisation creates added value by increasing competitiveness. Similarly, 
the organisations representing the environmental interests and the interests of consumers and 
workers in  standardisation (ANEC, ETUC and ECOS) should provide examples illustrating 
how  their  involvement  in  standardisation  benefits  broader  society.  Such  examples  may  set 
benchmarks and best practices that other organisations may follow. 

Additionally,  it  would  be  useful  if  Annex  III  organisations  enhanced  and  highlighted  the 
connection they have with their constituencies in different Member States. It is important for 
their  national  members  to  see  the  advantages  of  Annex  III  organisations  engaging  in 
European standardisation and to boost the legitimacy of these organisations.      

35 See Action Plan in SWD(2018)15 
36 National standard bodies in the meaning of Art 2 of Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 
37    Small Business Standards, the European consumer voice in standardisation , the European Trade Union 
Confederation   and the European Environmental Citizens’ Organisation for Standardisation 

9 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
The ESOs should also report cases where the participation of underrepresented stakeholders, 
in particular Annex III organisations, has benefited the European standardisation system and 
the way it operates. 

The Commission will continue addressing inclusiveness and related challenges in its bilateral 
dialogue with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and  the International 
Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). 

4.3.  Evaluation of the Regulation 

Article  24(3)  of  the  Regulation  (EU)  No  1025/2012  on  European  standardisation  stipulates 
that by 31 December 2015, and every 5 years after that, the Commission will present a report 
to the European Parliament and to the Council on the implementation of this Regulation. 

In  this  context,  the  Commission  will  launch  an  independent  review  of  the  European 
standardisation  system  in  2019  to  evaluate  its  performance.  The  independent  review  will 
build on the outcome of the Joint initiative on standardisation and possibly on the results of 
the study on the impact of standardisation. 

4.4.  Financing European standardisation 

The  current  Framework  Partnership  Agreements  with  CEN,  CENELEC  and  ETSI,  which 
provide  the  legal  framework  for  Union  funding  of  European  standardisation,  will  end  in 
December  2020.  To  reduce 
the  European  Standardisation 
the  administration  for 
Organisations and enable all national standardisation bodies to participate in the development 
of standards, the Commission will assess potential new measures to simplify the financing of 
European  standardisation  by  extending  the  use  of  lump  sums  to  all  forms  of  grants.  To 
calculate the scales of unit costs and lump sums, the Commission will ask the ESOs to submit 
their methodology, statistics and audit certificates. 

In addition, in view of the next framework partnership agreements which follow the timeline 
of the next multi-annual financial framework (MFF 2021-2027), the Commission will explore 
ways,  with  the  ESOs  and  Annex  III  organisations,  how  to  best  define  updated  key 
performance  indicators  (KPIs)  and  their  implementation  for  their  respective  activities.  The 
negotiations for the next framework partnership agreements will start in 2019. 

5.  Delivering on the Joint initiative on standardisation (JIS) 

The Joint initiative on standardisation operates under a joint vision for standardisation that is 
based on mutually agreed underlying principles. Since its signing in June 2016, the initiative 
has  been  driven  by  stakeholders  and  facilitated  by  the  Commission  and  will  in  principle, 

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conclude its work in 2019. For that, the Commission will therefore analyse the deliverables 
tabled.  These fall into three categories: 

1. Awareness, education and understanding about the European standardisation system; 
2. Coordination, cooperation, transparency and inclusiveness; 
3. Competitiveness and international dimension. 

5.1.  Study on the economic and societal impact of standardisation 

Standards  play  a  vital  albeit  sometimes  an  invisible  part  in  supporting  economic  growth 
through  their  role  in  boosting  productivity,  competitiveness  and  innovation  and  societal 
welfare.  In  addition,  the  impact  of  standards  within  businesses  and  their  supply  chains  are 
less well understood. The same applies for the public sector, which is not always aware and 
informed of the impact of using standards in public policies. 

Therefore, following  the invitation from the Council  and in line with  the Joint initiative  on 
standardisation, the Commission is preparing a study on the economic and societal impacts of 
standardisation in the EU. The tendering process as a precursor to the launch of the study is 
planned in 2018 and is supported by a feasibility study that was launched in 2017. 

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