To keep pace with global technological developments, political priorities, and international trends, the European Commission has released a communications proposal detailing initiatives to modernize the European Union’s standardization policy.
The commission intends to modernize the European Standardization System (ESS) in cooperation with industry, European standardization organizations, small and medium enterprises, and interested stakeholders.
The commission also announced the next steps in the Joint Initiative on Standardization, which aims to reinforce the partnership between European institutions and the greater standardization community.
Detailed in its Single Market Strategy, the commission is focused on a single and coherent ESS that “adapts to the changing environment, supports multiple policies, and brings benefits and predictability to consumers and businesses.”
Standards, which are strategic assets for boosting competitiveness, also support the service economy and help to ensure the quality and safety of products and services.
As outlined in the commission’s press release, the plan will serve the standardization community and related stakeholders by:
- Providing clarity on service standards and how they can be used
- Helping the commission and standard setters to identify problems and gaps where European service standards could be most useful
- Encouraging more effective and targeted development of European service standards in the areas where they can be most beneficial
- Helping to remove and reduce national barriers for service providers
- Promoting greater awareness of standards.
Along with the proposal, the commission also reports that the JIS was formally endorsed by all partners on June 13.