The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), the European Committee for Standardization (CEN), and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on European standardization related to Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The Memorandum of Understanding provides the basis for collaboration between FRA and CEN and CENELEC in the Joint Technical Committee 21 (JTC 21). This committee is tasked with developing standards in the field of Artificial Intelligence under the EU AI Act. FRA welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the development of technical standards with its research findings and fundamental rights expertise.
In the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding, CEN, CENELEC and FRA will work on a range of joint collaborative activities, including the exchange of ideas and expertise within their respective competences in Artificial Intelligence standardization. The agreement facilitates participating in discussions and submitting contributions in support of the organizations’ shared goal of promoting coordinated European standardization in the Digital Society sector.
Under the agreement, FRA will contribute advice on fundamental rights considerations to the standardization work, helping to ensure that AI standards developed in support of the AI Act respect EU fundamental rights.
FRA, CEN and CENELEC are three of the five permanent members of the upcoming Advisory Forum established under the AI Act. The Advisory Forum will be tasked with providing technical expertise and advice to the European AI Board and the European Commission.
The Memorandum of Understanding is concluded for an initial period of three years and will be reviewed annually.
FRA’s Director, Sirpa Rautio, welcomes the cooperation: “In a world that increasingly relies on technology, including artificial intelligence (AI), it becomes ever more important to pay attention to the protection of fundamental rights. Many risks can be prevented when considering fundamental rights already when developing technology. This will lead to better technology. The MoU signed between FRA, CEN and CENELEC serves to underpin the recognition of fundamental rights in technical standards for AI.”
CEN and CENELEC’s Acting Director General, Cinzia Missiroli, commented: “I warmly welcome the signature of this Memorandum of Understanding with FRA. It reinforces CEN and CENELEC’s commitment to developing Artificial Intelligence standards that are not only technically robust, but also grounded in Europe’s fundamental rights and values. By combining standardization expertise with FRA’s knowledge in fundamental rights, we strengthen the foundations for trustworthy AI in Europe and support the effective implementation of the EU AI Act.”
