European standards and European standardisation deliverables: decisions of European standardisation organisations

The Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection adopted the report by Svenja HAHN (Renew Europe, DE) on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 as regards the decisions of European standardisation organisations concerning European standards and European standardisation deliverables.

The purpose of this initiative is to amend an EU Regulation governing the European standardisation system. The proposed amendment to Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 is limited and targeted to the work of the European standardisation organisations following a request from the Commission.

The committee responsible recommended that the European Parliament's position adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure should amend the proposal as follows:

The amending proposal, as amended, provides that, without prejudice to other advisory opinions, each European standardisation organisation will ensure that the following decisions concerning European standards and European standardisation deliverables are takenexclusively by national representatives, namely by representatives of the national standardisation bodies within the competent decision-making body of that organisation:

- decisions on the acceptance and refusal of standardisation requests;

- decisions on the acceptance of new work items that are needed for the fulfilment of the standardisation request.

The amendments emphasise that standards do not only regulate the technical aspect of a product or service but also play an important role for workers, citizens and the environment.

Members believe that the role, participation and contribution of stakeholders, including those representing SMEs and environmental, social and consumer interests, should bestrengthened, and made more inclusive through the establishment of a multistakeholder approach. The views of, and the input from, relevant stakeholders should be taken into account in European standardisation organisations. The decisions of national standardisation bodies should reflect the outcome of the consultation with relevant stakeholders/

Furthermore, the decision-making bodies of the European standards organisations should be open to the participation not only of the national standards bodies but also of the national standards organisations of the acceding countries, candidate countries, potential candidate countries and countries which have concluded an agreement with the Union aiming at ensuring regulatory convergence or compatibility with the legal acts of the Union in the areas of the internal market that are relevant to European standardisation organisation’s activities.

The participation of the national standardisation organisation of third countries should not prevent the adoption of a decision on European standards and European standardisation deliverables supported by the majority of national standardisation bodies from Member States of the Union and, where applicable, other members of EEA that have been notified as national standardisation bodies.