On 8 May, the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg voted to endorse the Own Initiative Report on a Standardization Strategy for the Single Market.
CEN and CENELEC extensively engaged with the European Parliament during the drafting of this report to ensure the views of European Standardization Organisations were duly considered. For example, Vice President Policy of CENELEC, Ewa Zielińska, was a panellist for a roundtable conversation in the European Parliament on the EU Standardization Strategy hosted by the rapporteur MEP Adam Bielan in March 2023. CEN and CENELEC had previously welcomed the report as a sign of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee’s commitment to the European Standardization System when approved at committee level.
Standards play a key role in the successful functioning of the single market by enabling ease of trade between member states and fostering consumer confidence by ensuring that they can expect a high level of quality in all parts of Europe. This report recognises that standards have many important functions, stating that “the adoption of European standards and European standardisation deliverables facilitates market access, enhances the competitiveness of European companies and the safety of citizens, contributes to strengthening the single market and simplifies compliance for market participants and national authorities”.
The public-private partnership between CEN and CENELEC and the European institutions have greatly contributed to the prosperity and evolution of the European Standardization System. CEN and CENELEC looks forward to future collaboration with the European Parliament on the legislative proposals and reports relevant to standardization.
