European Commission proposes faster and more inclusive EU standards system

The European Commission has proposed changes to the European Union’s standardisation system, arguing that standards need to keep pace with technological and economic change.

Standards are agreed technical rules or specifications that help ensure that products and services work safely and consistently. In the EU, they can also help businesses demonstrate that their products comply with legislation and make it easier to sell them across the Single Market.

The Commission said the current system can take too long to respond to rapid innovation. Its proposal would introduce clearer deadlines for developing standards requested by the Commission and allow temporary technical solutions to be used while full standards are being developed.

Under the proposal, external technical specifications could also be used under defined conditions and safeguards. Other organisations could contribute to technical work when there are urgent or highly specialised needs.

The Commission estimates that these changes could reduce the average time needed to develop a standard from six years to four years.

The proposal also seeks to make the process more inclusive. European and national standardisation organisations would have stronger obligations to ensure effective participation by small and medium-sized enterprises, civil society, academia and public authorities.

It would also introduce additional transparency and accountability requirements. The Commission is proposing dedicated repositories to provide free access to standards developed under EU law, following recent rulings by the European Court of Justice.

The Commission also sees standardisation as an important part of the EU’s international economic position. Standards adopted in one jurisdiction can influence practices and requirements internationally. The proposal therefore includes measures to improve coordination of the EU’s approach to international standard-setting.

A new Expert Centre on European Standardisation is also proposed. It would provide strategic guidance and help coordinate standardisation work with wider EU priorities.

The proposal will now be considered by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. It would need to be adopted before the new rules could enter into force.

The EU standardisation system is currently based on cooperation between European organisations such as CEN, CENELEC and ETSI, national standardisation bodies, industry, public authorities and other stakeholders. Its legal framework is set out in Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 on European standardisation.