NEWS
The British Standards Institution (BSI) hosted an excellent and varied meeting of the ISO Consumer Policy Committee (COPOLCO) in London in late May. The meeting featured sessions of the COPOLCO Working Groups: a joint event with BSI on “Protecting Consumers in the Age of AI” and the COPOLCO plenary annual meeting.
The ETUC has been actively contributing to the work of CEN and CENELEC Joint Technical Committee 21 (JTC 21) in the development of two European standards mandated by the European Commission to support the implementation of the AI Act.
On May 16, 2025, the Portuguese National Standardization Body – IPQ (Instituto Português da Qualidade) – officially launched NormIA, an AI-powered virtual assistant designed to support citizens and businesses in understanding and applying standards.
As we head into autumn, SIST has a series of engaging initiatives lined up to raise awareness of standardization and to deepen connections with business and research communities.
IFAN, the International Federation of Standards Users, recently hosted an IFAN AI Workshop. The workshop explored how AI is reshaping the standards ecosystem, from development to implementation. The workshop had a strong turnout, with over 50 participants from the standardization and tech communities. The engagement and interaction during the sessions reaffirmed the importance of cross-sector collaboration in shaping responsible, inclusive, and forward-looking AI standards.
Norway is in the midst of a sweeping transformation in how it produces, distributes, and consumes energy. At the heart of this change is a national movement toward a fully electrified society—one where electricity is no longer limited to homes and some industrial applications but is becoming the foundation for transport, aquaculture, and other critical sectors. This evolution is not only central to meeting climate goals but also to fostering energy security, economic resilience, and technological leadership.
An important milestone was reached in the implementation of the CEN Online Standards Development tool, with the deployment of the remaining stages of the standard drafting process in collaboration with ISO. The end-to-process from Project Creation to Publication is now available for CEN supported deliverables.
On 11 and 12 June 2025, ANEC celebrated its 30th anniversary and held its 36th General Assembly in Brussels, bringing together members, stakeholders and partners to reflect on achievements and shape the way forward.
Europe is increasingly experiencing the impacts of climate change, with extreme weather events, such as devastating forest fires and catastrophic floods, becoming more frequent across EU Member States. Firefighters and emergency service workers are at the forefront of the response, facing growing risks and challenges in their daily work. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) plays a vital role in protecting these workers from the escalating hazards they encounter.
As part of the cooperation between the Slovenian Institute for Standardization (SIST) and innovative Slovenian companies, Eva Pevec and Aleksander Velkavrh, SIST’s young standardization ambassadors, visited 360 Karting, a globally recognized provider of premium karting tracks. The purpose of the visit was to understand how standards are integrated and applied in the design, production, and testing of modern entertainment products.