Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council and the European Economic and Social Committee. The annual Union work programme for European standardisation

Europe’s goal is to create growth and jobs in a smart, sustainable and inclusive way through the Europe 2020 strategy and its flagship initiatives. The importance of standardisation for jobs, growth and economic recovery was reiterated most recently in the Commission’s Industrial Policy Update “A Stronger European Industry for Growth and Economic Recovery” adopted in October 2012.

From research to production, from producer to consumer, from Europe to the rest of the world, European standards remove barriers, safeguard users, protect the environment, ensure interoperability, reduce costs and encourage competition. Studies show that standardisation adds between 0.3% and 1% to GDP thereby helping industry towards the target of contributing 20% of the EU’s GDP by 2020.

In order to ensure that Europe’s standardisation system can meet today’s challenges of rapid innovation, sustainability, convergence of technologies and fierce global competition, the Commission proposed a reform package in 2011 including a new Regulation which took effect from 1 January 2013. This reform aimed at increasing the system’s inclusiveness, responsiveness, transparency, flexibility and scope.

One innovation of the reform is the obligation for the Commission to adopt an annual Union work programme for European standardisation. This work programme identifies strategic priorities for European standardisation taking into account the Union’s long-term strategies for growth and sets out the objectives for the international dimension of European standardisation in support of Union legislation and policies.

EUR-Lex: COM(2013)561: Follow the progress of this communication through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2013:561:FIN

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