Standards are crucial for the EU economy, ensuring safety, interoperability, and market access across key sectors such as clean technologies, batteries, construction products, cybersecurity, and advanced manufacturing. Harmonised European standards facilitate the demonstration of compliance with EU legislation, reducing costs and boosting consumer confidence.
However, the current system faces challenges in keeping pace with rapid innovation and technological evolution, requiring timely standard development. In response, the Commission proposes a revision of the legislation to make the process more agile, while preserving the public-private partnership nature with European standardisation organisations.
The proposal sets clearer deadlines for developing standards requested by the Commission and clarifies the use of common specifications as an alternative. It also strengthens the obligations of national and European standardisation organisations to ensure effective participation of all stakeholders, as well as transparency and accountability. Furthermore, it aims to improve EU coordination in international standardisation and foresees the creation of a European Standardisation Expertise Centre.
