Annexes to COM(2018)686 - Annual Union work programme for European standardisation for 2019

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dossier COM(2018)686 - Annual Union work programme for European standardisation for 2019.
document COM(2018)686 EN
date October 11, 2018
Agreement 20 to assess microplastic release into the aquatic environment during the washing of synthetic textiles.


In its recent proposal for a directive to address the impact of certain plastic products on the environment 21 the Commission has included a proposal to require that beverage containers can only be placed on the market if the caps and lids are tethered to the containers, as caps and lids are among the most found items. In view of ensuring a good functioning of the internal market after the entry into force of the directive the Commission has also included the development of a harmonised standard in the proposal, which is considered crucial by both Council and the European Parliament.


2.4.Action in support of a deeper and fairer internal market with a strengthened industrial base

Standardisation is an important pre-requisite for a deeper and fairer internal market. The development of key technical standards is highly relevant to ensure the interoperability of the different systems and can largely facilitate the uptake of innovative solutions. The recently adopted Mobility Package to help the transportation sector make a competitive and socially fair transition to clean energy and digitalisation sets out a number of initiatives. For example, vehicles platooning enables a group of self-driving vehicles to move safely by using automated intelligent control systems that are inter-communicative. In this case, a lead vehicle controls the speed and direction of all others and is a promising technology for making our roads safer and transport more efficient. Standardisation should support the implementation of the proposed EU Regulation 22 by providing technical specification solving the inter-connection and interoperability needs of the system. In parallel, the Commission will work to address 23 the issues of spectrum to support radio access technologies for connected and automated mobility in the 5.9 GHz band.


To ensure safe driving conditions in the EU territory there has to be convergence in the design, building and management of road infrastructure. Standards could foster harmonisation and knowledge sharing between Member States on the respected procedures and requirements.


In addition, for better safety, removal of technical barriers and rapid deployment of innovation, focus will continue to be on setting new technical specifications for interoperability relating to the infrastructure and rolling stock subsystems of the rail system.


The completion of the core network and corridors of the Trans-European Network for Transport (TEN-T) will increase transport capacity in the internal market without increasing CO2 emissions. Standardisation could support solutions to ensure interoperability and communication between the network’s electronic systems.


In combination with electronic invoicing, electronic freight transport information will make the logistics sector more efficient. On electronic freight transport information, standards should make the elaboration of a uniform approach to the acceptance of electronic documents easier.


The Commission will also request an update of the standards needed for inspection and testing of dangerous goods transported across Member states.


2.5.Action in support of the European defence action plan

The European defence market suffers from fragmentation and insufficient industrial collaboration. Therefore, one of the three measures announced in the Defence Action Plan 24 is to ensure an open and competitive EU single market for defence. European standardisation has a proven track record in supporting openness and competition in the internal market. The Commission has proposed to the European Defence Agency to start developing an action plan for standardisation in the defence area in collaboration with the ESOs.


2.6.Action in support of the of the space strategy for Europe


Deployment of the Galileo system is to be completed by 2020, in parallel to the exploitation phase (started in 2017). This means that by that time the Space Segment will have been fully deployed and all services declared fully operational. The Commission has proposed to the European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency to start developing an action plan for standardisation in the area in collaboration with the ESOs.


2.7.Action in support of the European agenda on security


In order to deal with the new security challenges, the EU is funding research activities to advance the security technologies at European level. The EU security industrial base is in a strong position to deliver needed solutions. However, this industry has to overcome the existing fragmentation for the wide uptake of EU funded research outcomes. Standards could bridge this gap. They can offer economies of scale and reduce the information asymmetries between the supply and the demand sides, with cross-border transactions.


3.International cooperation


Supporting the competitive position of EU industry in the global value chain and strengthening its presence in international markets are key conditions for creating jobs and growth in Europe, particularly in view of the changing dynamic in the international trade policies 25 .


These objectives can primarily be achieved by aiming for the greatest possible coherence between international and European standards, and by promoting the general use of European and/or international standards outside the EU.


In 2019, the Commission will continue to intensify its policy dialogue with international standardisation bodies and pursue its participation in relevant international fora 26 . The Commission will also liaise with international standardisation organisations such as ISO/IEC/JTC1/ITU-T and when relevant follow-up its technical committees.


The Commission will also promote European standardisation and contribute to chapters on Technical Barriers to Trade when negotiating, elaborating and implementing various international policy actions, such as Free-Trade Agreements 27 , the EU/Ukraine Association Agreement 28 , Eastern Partnership 29 , EU/African Renewed Partnership 30 and the Europe/Asia Connectivity process 31 .


The Commission will launch a dialogue on standards with the United States in order to ease trade, reduce bureaucratic obstacles, and slash costs 32 .


Similarly, the Commission will ensure continuity of visibility projects, such as the current schemes for seconded European standardisation experts in China and India, and the web-based standardisation platform with China 33 and the projects related to international cooperation on ICT standardisation 34 . The overall objective of such actions is to present the European Standardisation System as an attractive alternative to other regional or national standardisation arrangements, provide standardisation-relevant intelligence and facilitate bilateral cooperation on standardisation matters.


In addition, the actions will support European companies having difficulty gaining access to non-EU markets because of standardisation issues. The Commission is planning to renew the current project in India from mid-2019 until 2022. The Commission will support the organisation of 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) meetings in Europe in order to facilitate the active participation of a broad range of European delegates, from key industrial players, including SMEs, academia and research institutions.


4.Public-private partnership

4.1.Governance

A timely delivery of high-quality standards requires continuous cooperation and trust building between both sides of the public-private partnership of European standardisation.

In particular, the quality of the harmonised standards, which provide presumption of conformity, require specific attention from both sides. That type of standard must meet the recent jurisprudence in this regard, comply with the European Standardisation Regulation and fulfil the legal requirements of the sectorial legislation it covers. Following that recent jurisprudence, the Commission will continue to reassess its procedures and share them with the stakeholders through the Joint Initiative on Standardisation launched in 2016 and through the Action Plan on referencing harmonised standards that was agreed between the Commission and the ESOs in 2017 35 . The ESOs are invited to give the highest priority to addressing the non-referenced harmonised standards in order to meet the high-quality standards required by the market and the legislator and to ensure a timely referencing in the OJEU.


To implement that Action Plan, in 2019 the Commission will focus on further consolidating the new system of consultants on harmonised standards that was implemented in 2018. The system was set up to verify and assess the quality of draft-harmonised standards and their conformity to the corresponding Union legislation and policies.


The Commission will continue to support the governance process through its regular structural dialogues with the ESOs. This is proving to be a useful framework for the early resolution of obstacles and the effective implementation of agreed actions.


4.2.Inclusiveness

The Commission reiterates its invitation to ESOs, national standardisation bodies 36 and Annex III organisations (SBS, ANEC, ETUC and ECOS) 37 to continue their efforts to ensure stakeholder participation and to step up their cooperation, if necessary by adapting their internal rules and procedures.


The Commission intends to demonstrate the favourable impact of inclusiveness on the quality of European standardisation and its ability to achieve state-of-the-art deliverables, capable of boosting business competitiveness while taking into account the needs of small businesses and civil society. The Commission will therefore ask SBS, representing small businesses in European standardisation, to provide concrete examples demonstrating how SME participation in standardisation creates added value by increasing competitiveness. Similarly, the organisations representing the environmental interests and the interests of consumers and workers in standardisation (ANEC, ETUC and ECOS) should provide examples illustrating how their involvement in standardisation benefits broader society. Such examples may set benchmarks and best practices that other organisations may follow.


Additionally, it would be useful if Annex III organisations enhanced and highlighted the connection they have with their constituencies in different Member States. It is important for their national members to see the advantages of Annex III organisations engaging in European standardisation and to boost the legitimacy of these organisations.


The ESOs should also report cases where the participation of underrepresented stakeholders, in particular Annex III organisations, has benefited the European standardisation system and the way it operates.


The Commission will continue addressing inclusiveness and related challenges in its bilateral dialogue with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).


4.3.Evaluation of the Regulation

Article 24(3) of the Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 on European standardisation stipulates that by 31 December 2015, and every 5 years after that, the Commission will present a report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the implementation of this Regulation.


In this context, the Commission will launch an independent review of the European standardisation system in 2019 to evaluate its performance. The independent review will build on the outcome of the Joint initiative on standardisation and possibly on the results of the study on the impact of standardisation.


4.4.Financing European standardisation


The current Framework Partnership Agreements with CEN, CENELEC and ETSI, which provide the legal framework for Union funding of European standardisation, will end in December 2020. To reduce the administration for the European Standardisation Organisations and enable all national standardisation bodies to participate in the development of standards, the Commission will assess potential new measures to simplify the financing of European standardisation by extending the use of lump sums to all forms of grants. To calculate the scales of unit costs and lump sums, the Commission will ask the ESOs to submit their methodology, statistics and audit certificates.


In addition, in view of the next framework partnership agreements which follow the timeline of the next multi-annual financial framework (MFF 2021-2027), the Commission will explore ways, with the ESOs and Annex III organisations, how to best define updated key performance indicators (KPIs) and their implementation for their respective activities. The negotiations for the next framework partnership agreements will start in 2019.


5.Delivering on the Joint initiative on standardisation (JIS)

The Joint initiative on standardisation operates under a joint vision for standardisation that is based on mutually agreed underlying principles. Since its signing in June 2016, the initiative has been driven by stakeholders and facilitated by the Commission and will in principle, conclude its work in 2019. For that, the Commission will therefore analyse the deliverables tabled. These fall into three categories:


1. Awareness, education and understanding about the European standardisation system;

2. Coordination, cooperation, transparency and inclusiveness;

3. Competitiveness and international dimension.


5.1.Study on the economic and societal impact of standardisation

Standards play a vital albeit sometimes an invisible part in supporting economic growth through their role in boosting productivity, competitiveness and innovation and societal welfare. In addition, the impact of standards within businesses and their supply chains are less well understood. The same applies for the public sector, which is not always aware and informed of the impact of using standards in public policies.


Therefore, following the invitation from the Council and in line with the Joint initiative on standardisation, the Commission is preparing a study on the economic and societal impacts of standardisation in the EU. The tendering process as a precursor to the launch of the study is planned in 2018 and is supported by a feasibility study that was launched in 2017.


(1)

CEN — European Committee for Standardisation, CENELEC — European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation and ETSI — European Telecommunications Standards Institute

(2)

Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on European standardisation.

(3)

COM(2018)358

(4)

C(2016) 3211

(5)

  https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/european-multi-stakeholder-platform-ict- standardisation

(6)

In line with the obligation stipulated by Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 Art. 24.3.

(7)

see the actions in the SWD accompanying this Communication

(8)

COM(2016) 176

(9)

COM(2018) 26 and SWD(2018) 15

(10)

  http://ec.europa.eu/growth/industry/policy/ict-standardisation_en#rolling_plan_ict_standardisation

(11)

COM(2017)477

(12)

The Commission is directly engaged in standardisation through a liaison with ISO Technical Committee 307 on blockchain and distributed technologies. It also liaises with CEN’s Focus Group on Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies, whose original task is to produce an EU white paper on blockchain standardisation. It will also identify any blockchain standardisation needs at EU level.

(13)

see details in COM(2018) 237

(14)

COM(2018)284

(15)

  https://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/road/news/2018-05-17-europe-on-the-move-3_en

(16)

COM(2018)296

(17)

 Annex 2 to COM(2018) 293

(18)

 The European Battery Alliance (EBA) was launched in October 2017 by Vice President Šefčovič:

https://ec.europa.eu/growth/industry/policy/european-battery-alliance_en

(19)

Results of the currently executed "ancillary and preliminary action on sustainable chemicals" under Grant

Agreement n° CEN/000/2017-05 Sustainable Chemicals

(20)

The Agreement is signed by five industry associations: AISE, CIRFS, EOG, EURATEX and FESI.

(21)

COM(2018) 340

(22)

COM(2018)286

(23)

see details in COM(2018)283

(24)

COM(2016) 950

(25)

The implications of the changing international dynamics for policy involvement from the Commission (e.g. Industrial policy) were among the topics discussed by the June 2018 inter-institutional dialogue on standardisation.

(26)

Such as the World Trade Organisation and United Nations Committees.

(27)

  http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/negotiations-and-agreements/

(28)

OJ L 161, 29.5.2014, p. 3–2137

(29)

The Eastern Partnership (EaP) is a joint initiative involving the EU, its Member States and six Eastern European Partners: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine.

(30)

COM(2017) 763 final

(31)

JOIN(2018) 31

(32)

  http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_STATEMENT-18-4687_en.htm

(33)

  https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/cesip/

(34)

  www.indico-ictstandards.eu ; www.standict.eu

(35)

See Action Plan in SWD(2018)15

(36)

National standard bodies in the meaning of Art 2 of Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012

(37)

Small Business Standards , the European consumer voice in standardisation , the European Trade Union Confederation and the European Environmental Citizens’ Organisation for Standardisation