Recommitting to European Standards is key for a strong Single Market

Very often, European standards go unnoticed. And yet, they are an essential tool that makes sure that may of the things in our daily lives function efficiently, everywhere in Europe. Among them, the Single Market.

Standards are voluntary technical documents that lay out rules, guidelines, or definitions for a huge variety of products and services in Europe. Whether you are climbing up a ladder, heating up leftovers in your microwave or using any device connected to the internet, standards ensure that they are safe, efficient, and secure in all parts of Europe.

But standards don’t just appear out of the blue: they are the result of intense work carried out by more than 200.000 experts from industry, associations, public administrations, academia, and societal organizations. All this work is coordinated by CEN and CENELEC, two of the official European standardization organizations (ESOs). Through their work, CEN and CENELEC as, have been key actors in making the Single Market how we know it today.

At the heart of the power of European Standards is one key principle: once a European Standard is approved, CEN and CENELEC’s National Members in 34 countries will replace conflicting national standards with that one standard. With a combined portfolio of around 24.000 European standards across all economic and societal sectors, this principle has systematically facilitated trade, reduced red tape, and ensured consistent quality across Europe.

As made clear in both the Letta and the Draghi Reports, the European Single Market is not yet at the level needed to successfully tackle the pressing challenges that Europe faces. To maintain the resilience of the continent, increase its competitiveness, and meet the goals of the net-zero transition, Europe’s policymakers need to take decisive action on the future of the Single Market.

Through its ability to ensure clarity and consistency for the trade of goods and services across Europe, the European Standardization System is a key asset to help achieve such very ambitious objectives. Its unique public-private partnership based on consensus and inclusion should be upheld by the European Institutions in the next legislative cycle.

A first step in the right direction has already been taken: in 2022, the European Standardization Strategy already recognized European Standards as playing a strategic role for the future of Europe. Now, it is time to build upon this commitment and implement the next steps.

One such step is to ensure consistent use of the New Legislative Framework (NLF) in its intended spirit. Standards have supported European policy in a variety of areas since the establishment of the NLF in 2008.The principle of ‘presumption of conformity’ allows manufacturers to choose how to show their compliance with essential requirements of a legislation by using a harmonized standard. This has enabled easier market access for a wide range of industries and has greatly reduced administrative burden faced by European companies. As a result, voluntary and consensus-based standards have been precious tools to help products and services meet European regulatory requirements, while still giving the choice to manufacturers and importers to use other means of showing compliance.

In doing this, CEN and CENELEC have worked extensively in cooperation with the European Commission, EFTA, and all European stakeholders to produce standards in support of European policy objectives. The continued use of the NLF to establish clear and essential requirements in legislation, supported by voluntary technical standards, helps European businesses meet legal requirements and support the needs of all stakeholders.

CEN and CENELEC will continue to work hard to safeguard the European Standardization System and build upon the previous success of standards in solidifying the Single Market. But these goals require a renewed commitment from both policymakers and the standardization community. Standards do more than just guide the development of products and services. They can also drive innovation in the private sector. For the future of European competitiveness, it is key that standardization processes remain driven first and foremost by the needs of those who will use and implement standards.

Thus, it is paramount that industry continues to have a strong voice in standards development. Experts from all sectors and backgrounds must continue to feel empowered to put their own knowledge and skills at the service of developing the common technical solutions needed. The best way to ensure this empowerment is through the clear designation of roles and responsibilities between the two halves of the public-private partnership. Furthermore, strong and regular communication should be facilitated.

The new legislative term of the European Institutions offers a great opportunity to uphold the benefits of the New Legislative Framework and continue to support the public-private partnership at the heart of the European Standardization System. Without this framework, the task of reinforcing the Single Market would become much more difficult: to meet the challenges of the future, both internal and external, Europe needs a strong and effective Single Market. Recommitting to the Single Market is one of the key pillars of CEN and CENELEC’s Declaration, alongside “Transforming Europe to meet the ambitions of the net-zero and digital future through standardization” and “Strengthening European Leadership through Standardization”.

Therefore, CEN and CENELEC call on all returning and newly elected MEPs, Commission officials, and all those interested in the future of European competitiveness, to recommit to European Standardization. The future of Europe is in our (collective) hands: let us build it together, through the power of standards.