European Standardisation: A short insight

1. European Standardisation: A short insight By Guido De Jongh CEN-CENELEC Management Centre - Brussels

2. What is CEN ? (1) • The European Committee for Standardization, whose members are the National Standardization Bodies of the EU and EFTA countries plus Croatia • CEN is an international non-profit organisation, incorporated under Belgian law • 2 Counsellors (European Commission, EFTA) • CEN-CENELEC Management Centre (CCMC), Brussels • Recognized by the European Authorities as one of the three competent standardization bodies for the EU (see Directive 98/34/EC)

3. What is CEN ? (2) • Over 60 000 experts of all fields are active in CEN work • Experts of authorities, industry, consumer organisations, etc. (i.e. the stakeholders) participate in the standardisation process, which is open and transparent

4. The geography • Member • Affiliate 27 Members of EU 3 Members of EFTA Croatia 19 Affiliates

5. European Standards (EN) Over 14 000 ENs exist today, with about 1 000 new documents being published every year European Standards are, from a legal point of view, voluntary in their use, but “unavoidable” in practise CEN Workshop Agreements (CWA) Consensus-based documents, directly made by the stakeholders Often used in innovative areas, e.g. biofuels or information technology How do we harmonize and contribute to the single market ?

6. Standards, regulations and private specifications Law Regulations Mandatory Standards Public Voluntary CEN Workshop Agreement Professional good practice, corporate specs, etc. Private

7. What is a standard ? A standard is a document established by all interested parties (e.g. also yourself) reflecting consensus In addition, a European Standard is automatically transposed in national standards and conflicting national standards are to be withdrawn European Standards are, from a legal point of view, voluntary in their use, but at the same time “unavoidable” in practice A tool to underpin the details of directives e.g. Medical device directive

8. 6 Months Timeframe: 36 Months Drafting European Standards ? Circulation for comments Draft Standard Project Proposal Technical Committee Working Group Technical Committee NationalStandardsBody USER European Standard National implementation Weighted vote

9. Not only European Standards: The CEN Workshop Agreement • The CEN Workshop Agreement (CWA) represents the consensus of identified stakeholders • Anybody interested can join (including anyone outside Europe) – direct participation • A public process • Rules are very simple (non-bureaucratic) • Workshops are fast (5 months is the record, 12-15 months average!) • The CEN Workshop Agreement shall not conflict with ENs

10. Different steps to publish a CEN Workshop Agreement Drafting and adoption of CWA Kick-off Meeting Publication of CWA Business Plan TIMEFRAME: 6 – 18 MONTHS Describing – Scope – Objectives – Financing – Schedule Confirming Business Plan : – Rules of the Workshop – Financing – Chairmanship – Secretariat Consensus process – Workshop participants – Public consultation, as appropriate Announced by CEN National Members

11. Our international partner: ISO • Main differences CEN – ISO • ISO works at worldwide level • Consensus building process on ISO standards must take account of all regional interests • No automatic transposition of ISO standard at national level • Collaboration agreement between CEN and ISO (Vienna Agreement) avoids duplication of work

13. Some examples • Standards on products • EN 71 series on “Safety of toys” • EN 14214:2008 “Biodiesel” for cars • EN 81 series on “Lifts” • Standards on services • EN 14804: 2005 “Language study tour providers – Requirements” • EN 14467: 2004 “Recreational diving services – Requirements for recreational scuba diving service providers” • prEN 15733 “Services of Real Estate Agents – Requirements for the provision of the services of real estate agents”

14. Questions ? Thank you www.cen.eu E-mail: gdejongh@cencenelec.eu