Every day, approximately 300 million individuals are menstruating, yet surprisingly, there is no global or European standard to ensure the safety of menstrual products. This International Women’s Day, we want to spotlight the critical work of ISO/TC 338 — Menstrual Products.
The beginning of 2026 has been marked by an intense series of dissemination activities supporting the implementation of the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA). Through webinars, deep-dive technical sessions and on-site workshops, the European standardization community is actively engaging stakeholders and facilitating the understanding of how harmonized standards will support CRA compliance.
In January, CEN and CENELEC participated in the European Commission’s public consultation on the European Research Area Act, the flagship initiative aimed at closing the EU’s innovation gap and making Europe the most attractive destination for researchers.
The Horizon Europe project RISERS has published the first public version of its Roadmap for Industrial Symbiosis Standardization for Efficient Resource Sharing.
CEN and CENELEC welcome the European Commission’s initiative to revise Directive 2014/24/EU on public procurement with the aim of increasing simplicity, flexibility, and transparency.
The January issue of the CEN and CENELEC newsletter 'On the Spot' is out now!
SBS has launched a new and updated version of its SME Compatibility Test for Standards. The Compatibility Test, originally launched at the end of 2020, provides an overall appraisal of the SME compatibility of a given standard. The Compatibility Test is based on CEN and CENELEC and ISO Guide 17 “Guidance for writing standards taking into account micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) needs”.
Last year, Standards Norway carried out a dedicated project to improve the information provided to prospective and newly appointed participants in standardization work. The objective was to streamline communication and ensure that committee members receive clear, accurate, and relevant information.
ANEC welcomes the revision of Regulation (EU) 1025/2012 and supports focused amendments that strengthen, rather than overhaul, the European Standardization System.
The European Commission is expected to publish its proposal to revise the EU regulatory framework on standardization in the second half of this year. In December, the ETUC contributed to this process by submitting its response to the Commission’s public consultation, which sought stakeholders’ views on the key priorities for updating the current regulation.