1. European Commission EUROPEAN STANDARDISATION IN SUPPORT OF EUROPEAN POLICIES AND LEGISLATION Norbert ANSELMANN (norbert.anselmann@ec.europa.eu) Head of Unit I3 “Standardisation” Enterprise and Industry Directorate General European Commission

2. CONTENT *Political context *Enhance and broaden the use of European standardisation in European policies and legislation : =support of Better Regulation Policy =support of industrial and enterprise policy *European standardisation and the challenge of globalisation European Commission Directorate General Enterprises and Industry

3. POLITICAL CONTEXT *Communication from the European Commission on the role of European standardisation in the framework of European policies and legislation (COM(2004) 674 final) *Endorsement through conclusions from the Council of Ministers relating to European standardisation of 21 December 2004 European Commission Directorate General Enterprises and Industry

4. POLITICAL CONTEXT *Action plan for European standardisation www.ec.europa.eu/enterprise/standards_policy/index_en.htm The regularly updated action plan reflects in operational terms the implementation of the EU’s standardisation policy European Commission Directorate General Enteprises and Industry

5. ADVANTAGES OF STANDARDISATION Following a DTI study (2005), 13% of UK post- war productivity growth can be attributed to standards-based dissemination of technology, management practice and other knowledge, as part of the innovation system. European Commission Directorate General Enterprises and Industry

6. ADVANTAGES OF STANDARDISATION A DIN study (2000) revealed that the added value generated by standardisation is at least as important as the added value generated by patents. European Commission Directorate General Enterprises and Industry

7. CONTRIBUTION OF EUROPEAN STANDARDISATION TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EU POLICIES As identified in the Lisbon agenda, standardisation is an important tool for:  better regulation;  strengthening the competitiveness of European industry and contributing to the development of industrial projects. European Commission Directorate General Enterprises and Industry

8. CONTRIBUTION OF EUROPEAN STANDARDISATION TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EU POLICIES Vice-President Verheugen said “ I expect standardisation to continue to be a strength. Standardisation is contributing to the reduction of barriers to trade and to increased competitiveness. European standards makers are a major contributor to better regulation with standards being produced in support of co- and self-regulation ”. European Commission Directorate General Enterprises and Industry

9. ADVANTAGES OF STANDARDISATION Where standardisation has been identified as an essential tool of an effective and forward-looking business strategy, the implementation of such strategy can be the source of business success. European Commission Directorate General Enterprises and Industry

10. SUPPORT OF BETTER REGULATION POLICY It is the role of the independent European standards bodies CEN, CENELEC and ETSI to adopt voluntary standards which provide for more detailed solutions giving technical expression to the legal requirements. European Commission Directorate General Enterprises and Industry The role of the EU legislator consists of legislating on the mandatory protection requirements to ensure public interests.

11. SUPPORT OF BETTER REGULATION POLICY *The New Approach methodology has been applied since 1985 to more than 20 regulated sectors, including machinery, gas appliances, toys, electrical equipment, medical devices, pressure equipment, telecommunications equipment, measuring instruments and construction products. European Commission Directorate General Enterprises and Industry

12. ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS *Products placed on the European market must comply with the ‘essential requirements’ which address in a generic way the aspects of protection of health and safety of patients, users and third persons. European Commission Directorate General Enterprises and Industry

13. HARMONISED STANDARDS Harmonised European standards adopted by the European standards bodies CEN, CENELEC and ETSI give technical expression to the essential requirements. European Commission Directorate General Enterprises and Industry Harmonised standards remain voluntary. However, it is easier for the manufacturer to establish compliance with the Directives by using standards.

14. SUPPORT OF BETTER REGULATION POLICY * More than 4000 voluntary European standards have been adopted in support of this legislation. *The EU is committed to make even broader use of this regulatory concept in areas such as environment protection, transport, and the use of energy. European Commission Directorate General Enterprises and Industry

15. CONTRIBUTION OF EUROPEAN STANDARDISATION TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EU POLICIES BETTER REGULATION POLICY *Extension towards other areas of EU legislation such as : =air traffic management =interoperability of rail systems =eco-design of energy using products (EuP Directive) =energy performance of buildings *Application of the concept of general reference to voluntary standards in existing EU legislation European Commission Directorate General Enterprises and Industry

16. CONTRIBUTION OF EUROPEAN STANDARDISATION TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EU POLICIES STRENGTHENING OF COMPETITIVENESS European standardisation can contribute to enhance competitiveness of European industry, to facilitate the innovation of products and processes and to take benefit from the access to the European Internal Market. European Commission Directorate General Enterprises and Industry

17. CONTRIBUTION OF EUROPEAN STANDARDISATION TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EU POLICIES Areas where standardisation can support the introduction of new technologies and processes: =hydrogen technologies, =space, GALILEO, =environmental technologies (eg. Eco-design), rationale use of energy, sustainable construction =nano-technologies European Commission Directorate General Enterprises and Industry

18. CONTRIBUTION OF EUROPEAN STANDARDISATION TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EU POLICIES *Support of public procurement : =European Defence Handbook =eAccessibility European Commission Directorate General Enterprises and Industry

19. CONTRIBUTION OF EUROPEAN STANDARDISATION TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EU POLICIES *ICT standardisation work programme : =eHealth =e-Learning, e-Business, e-Government, e- Invoicing European Commission Directorate General Enterprises and Industry

20. CONTRIBUTION OF EUROPEAN STANDARDISATION TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EU POLICIES *Standardisation in the service sector : =customer call centres, =facility management =film archiving European Commission Directorate General Enterprises and Industry

21. CONTRIBUTION OF EUROPEAN STANDARDISATION TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EU POLICIES *Normally the initiative for the development of voluntary European standards belongs to the stakeholders themselves (industry, users, consumers, NGOs, …) European Commission Directorate General Enterprises and Industry

22. CONTRIBUTION OF EUROPEAN STANDARDISATION TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EU POLICIES *In the context of needs to support European policies, the European Commission invites European standards bodies – through « mandates » - to set up and implement comprehensive standardisation programmes. European Commission Directorate General Enterprises and Industry *« Mandates » are endorsed by the Member States through the 98/34 Committee

23. EUROPEAN STANDARDISATION AND THE CHALLENGE OF GLOBALISATION *EU is committed to the development and use of international standards from ISO, IEC, ITU *Level of transposition of international standards : =80% of CENELEC standards =40 % of CEN standards European Commission Directorate General Enterprises and Industry

24. EUROPEAN STANDARDISATION AND THE CHALLENGE OF GLOBALISATION *In the interest of market access and facilitation of trade, we invite our trade partners to make use of international and European standards wherever possible European Commission Directorate General Enterprises and Industry

25. We welcome the further implementation of the international regulatory model adopted by UN/ECE which promotes the use of voluntary standards EUROPEAN STANDARDISATION AND THE CHALLENGE OF GLOBALISATION WWW.UNECE.ORG/TRADE/TIPS/STDPOL European Commission Directorate General Enterprises and Industry

26. EUROPEAN STANDARDISATION AND THE CHALLENGE OF GLOBALISATION The European Commission contributes to the promotion of the visibility of European standardisation : =appointment of a standardisation expert at the EU delegation in China =standardisation is part of EU neighbourhood policy and of cooperation activities with third countries European Commission Directorate General Enterprises and Industry

27. CONCLUSIONS *European Internal Market legislation making use of voluntary standards has provided for about 15 years a successful framework for the free circulation of goods and a high level of protection of health and safety. European Commission Directorate General Enterprises and Industry

28. CONCLUSIONS *It has contributed to regulatory convergence and harmonisation of standards at global level. European Commission Directorate General Enterprises and Industry

29. CONCLUSIONS *The use of voluntary standards in support of this legislation has proven to be a successful tool. Thanks to the availability of European and international standards, both manufacturers and regulators could rely on the most adequate technical solutions taking account of the state of the art and the pace of technogical evolution. European Commission Directorate General Enterprises and Industry

30. CONCLUSIONS *The voluntary nature of harmonised standards provides for flexible solutions which allow predictibility and legal security whilst supporting technological progress and innovation. *These advantages refer to manufacturers, conformity assessment bodies and public authorities. European Commission Directorate General Enterprises and Industry

31. IMPORTANT INTERNET SITES TO REMEMBER www.cenelec.org www.cenorm.be www.etsi.org DG Enterprise ….. http://ec.europa.eu/comm/enterprise/regulation/index.htm Harmonised standards http://ec.europa.eu/comm/enterprise/newapproach/ standardization/harmstds/index.html New Approach......... http://www.newapproach.org

32. European Commission Directorate General Enterprises and Industry