NEWS

In 2020, the European Commission launched the Sustainable Products Initiative. At its heart is the revision of the Directive 2009/125/EC on Ecodesign requirements for energy-related products to become a Regulation of the Ecodesign on sustainable products (ESPR), entails sustainability requirements as one of the means to achieve the European Green Deal, and Circular Economy Action Plan. This new proposal by the European Commission supports the achievement of the European Green Deal and fosters the transition to a more Circular model that is in line with the standardization work conducted up to now in Europe.

2022 is the European Year of Youth. To celebrate this occasion, CEN and CENELEC are conducting a campaign, presenting a regular series of interviews with young professionals active in European standardization. In the third episode of the series, we get to know Alexandre Colombier, from France.

UNI developed and published pre-standard (reference practice) UNI/PdR 125:2022 on gender equality last March, with the help of the Working Table on the gender certification of companies provided by Mission 5 in the PNRR (Italy’s National Recovery Plan).

Bribery, fraudulent activities, harassment, and discrimination are all forms of misconduct that can occur within an organization. In such cases, an investigation needs to be carried out to find out what happened, and potential risks and solutions.

On 27 June, Cinzia Missiroli, the Director for Standardization and Digital Solutions at CEN and CENELEC, was invited to speak at “Bringing the AI Regulation Forward”, a joint event co-organised by the Spanish Government and the European Commission to launch the Spanish AI Sandbox Pilot.

Published by the European Commission on 2 February 2022, the new European standardization strategy proposes courses of action for European economic actors to develop "a stronger industry for a more independent Europe". Recognised as a highly strategic tool, voluntary standardization is essential to strengthen the EU's competitiveness on a global scale, to accompany the green and digital transition, and to develop a model that is faithful to European values and principles.

2022 is the European Year of Youth. To celebrate this occasion, CEN and CENELEC are conducting a campaign, presenting a regular series of interviews with young professionals active in European standardization. In the third episode of the series, we get to know Kristin Fagerli, from Norway.

By the end of 2024, USB-C chargers will become the standard charger for the most commonly used electronics in the EU after an agreement was reached between the European Parliament and the Council. CEN and CENELEC welcome this agreement and look forward to further collaboration on this matter.

As the European Commissioner Thierry Breton said on 7 June during a press event, “It is a great day for consumers and the environment”.

While the legislative process on the proposal for a Regulation laying down harmonised rules on Artificial Intelligence (AI Act) is still ongoing, the European Commission is seeking to speed up the development of standards on AI, with a view to having harmonized standards produced and available by the time the regulation is applicable at the end of 2024/beginning of 2025. To this aim, the Commission issued on 20 May a draft standardization request in support of safe and trustworthy Artificial Intelligence.