CECE sees an opportunity for further cooperation in the Commission’s Standardisation Strategy

The Strategy is accompanied by a proposal for an amendment to the Regulation on standardisation, a report on its implementation, and the 2022 annual Union work programme for European standardisation.

The strategy encompasses five different actions:

1. Anticipate, prioritise and address standardisation needs in strategic areas:  Including the annual publication of a Union work programme for European standardisation with the creation of a High-level Forum to inform future standardisation priorities. The EC will also establish the function of a Chief Standardisation Officer to ensure high-level guidance across the EC on standardisation activities.

2. Improve the governance and integrity of the European standardisation system: The EC launched an amendment proposal to the Regulation on standardisation to improve the governance in the European standardisation system. The goal is to avoid any undue influence of actors from outside of the EU during the development of standards.

3. Enhance European leadership in global standards: the EC will work to set up a new mechanism with EU Member States and national standardisation bodies to share information, coordinate and strengthen the European approach to international standardisation.

4. Support innovation: The EC will launch a ‘standardisation booster' to support researchers under Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe to test the relevance of their results for standardization and develop a Code of Practice for researchers on standardisation.

5. Enable the next generation of standardisation experts: The EC plans to promote more academic awareness on standards, specifically through the future organisation of EU University Days and training of researchers.

Different stakeholders welcomed the initiative as it would support the development and further consolidate the use of standards. CECE, together with other associations, is still monitoring and analysing the implications of the strategy.

Some of the key points for industry include ensuring the participation of industry stakeholders in the different steps of the standardisation process, including the future High-level Forum and the continue alignment of European (harmonised) standards with the International Standards developed by the different international standards organisations.