Press Release

Brussels, 1 June 2011

 Communication on a strategic vision for European Standards and the proposal for a regulation on European Standardization

The much awaited Communication on a strategic vision for European Standards and the proposal for a Regulation on European Standardization was released today by Antonio Tajani, Vice-President of the European Commission, in the Berlaymont building of the European Commission.Reverberations are expected to be felt across the industry and the services sector, the latter being the big newcomer to be integrated, wherever possible, into the standardization process, not least because the proposal is now in the legal form of a Regulation, making it immediately enforceable, if approved by the European Parliament, as law in all Member States simultaneously.

Prior to the Press Conference, Mr Tajani said that:

 “To be successful, Europe needs to react to the challenge of rapid innovation, sustainability, convergence of technologies, and fierce global competition. A dynamic European standardization system is essential to spur quality and innovation and to strengthen Europe’s role as a global economic player. Moreover, standards allow us all to have the best quality and sustainable products for a lower price. Standardisation is also a key issue for the well functioning of our internal market”.

Indeed, in these trying economic times, now more than ever, standards can offer a real breath of fresh air and bring a new, more than welcome stimulus to trade, at European and international levels. It is therefore in everyone’s benefit to provide as much input as possible into the creation of European Standards, one that will respect the principles of consensus, transparency and inclusiveness so vital to our Standardization System.

  For more information, and to view the Commission’s proposal, please go to the following link:

 http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/european-standards/standardisation-policy/index_en.htm

 For the press release in pdf click here