Standards used for procurement in the defence sector have been developed in some cases by standards bodies but in other cases by military organisations, such as NATO. During recent years, in the interests of efficiency and cost-effectiveness, efforts have been made to converge these two different ways of developing standards. In 2003, the Council of the European Union decided to encourage this development, CEN was asked to develop a European Handbook on Defence Procurement , to provide basic information on the standards that are relevant for the defence sector.
This handbook has been developed in a CEN workshop, supported by the European Commission, and was produced as a database. At the end of 2011, it was decided that the European Defence Agency (EDA) will be responsible for future updating of the handbook – with CEN and CENELEC staying involved in the process.
Access the 'European Handbook on Defence Procurement'
Support is also being given to encouraging wider awareness and understanding of defence procurement standards issues. The Stakeholder Forum for Defence Procurement Standardisation is a strategic platform comprising representatives of CEN and CENELEC members, military standards organisations, and European associations. Various relevant standards topics are being considered by the Forum.