The European Commission today presented a proposal to modernize the European standardization system, aimed at increasing its speed, strengthening the representation of small and medium-sized enterprises, and improving conditions for supporting the EU's strategic interests.
According to information published after the meeting of the College of Commissioners in Strasbourg, where the European Parliament is holding its plenary session this week, the idea is to revise current legislation to ensure more prompt and responsive standards development. The main strengths of the system as a public-private partnership involving European standardization organizations will be maintained.
The executive body assessed that the proposed measures would reduce the average time required to create a standard from six to four years. This will be achieved by simplifying processes and expanding expert participation. In the Commission's view, this will increase the Union's ability to influence global standardization while easing companies' access to the single EU market.
According to data from Brussels, harmonized European standards play a key role in helping companies confirm compliance with EU legislation, thereby reducing costs and increasing consumer quality and trust.
However, the Commission itself admitted that the current standardization system struggles to keep pace with the accelerated rates of innovation and technological development, which require timely development of relevant norms.
Currently, there are 27,000 European standards developed by European standardization organizations, including 3,650 harmonized standards that support companies in complying with EU rules. Brussels estimates that the reform will save European companies 300 million euros annually on compliance-related costs.
The focus is on technical European standards, which establish general requirements for safety, quality, performance, and compatibility for products and technologies. The development process for these standards takes an average of about six years—a period that Brussels considers too long given rapid technological progress and which plans to reduce to four years.
The proposal presented today provides for clearer deadlines for standards development and allows, under certain conditions, the use of external technical specifications and temporary solutions while the final standard is being developed. It also provides for broader participation of small and medium-sized enterprises, civil society, academic circles, and public authorities in the standardization process, as well as strengthened rules for transparency and access to standards developed under EU legislation.
This reform comes against the backdrop of growing international technological competition, particularly from major rivals—the US and China, as standardization is viewed as a tool for global competitiveness and influence. The proposal must now be agreed upon and approved by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU before it comes into force.