The European Commission presented this Tuesday a proposal to accelerate the development of the technical standards that determine the requirements that products and services must meet in order to be marketed throughout the European Union. The reform aims to reduce the average time needed for their development from six to four years and ensure free access to those standards linked to community legislation.
These standards include the specifications that a product, service, or process must comply with, from the safety of a toy to the compatibility of a phone charger, and allow companies to adhere to the same technical requirements to sell in different member states without having to adjust to different national regulations.
To shorten the deadlines, the community executive proposes setting "clearer" time limits for the development of the standards it requests and simplifying the procedures. In addition, it suggests allowing the use, in certain cases, of existing technical specifications while the final standard is completed, as well as opening the door for other specialized organizations to participate in the work when there are urgent or very specific needs.
With these modifications, Brussels estimates that the process could be reduced by a third, going from the current six years to four, which would facilitate that products demonstrate earlier that they meet community requirements and, consequently, access the European single market more quickly.
The reform also includes that harmonized standards and those mentioned in EU legislation can be consulted at no cost, following recent rulings from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) that have determined they are part of community law and, therefore, must be available free of charge.
According to the community executive, the measure would affect about 3,650 of the nearly 27,000 standards currently included in the catalogs of European standardization bodies. Brussels also proposes creating specific repositories to facilitate their consultation by companies, public administrations, civil society organizations, and citizens.
The initiative also seeks to facilitate the involvement of small and medium-sized enterprises in the definition of these technical rules, requiring national standardization bodies to reduce the costs for SMEs to participate in the process, while strengthening the presence of representatives from civil society, the academic field, and public authorities.
Brussels also aims to improve European coordination in the development of international standards, particularly in light of the growing relevance of strategic technologies such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, or batteries, areas in which the EU recognizes it is increasingly facing difficulties in quickly establishing norms that allow for the verification of compliance with its legislation.
To advance this objective, the Commission proposes the creation of a European Standardization Expert Center, which will be responsible for better coordinating community priorities in this area and guiding the European position. The reform will now need to be negotiated and approved by the European Parliament and the Twenty-Seven before it can come into force.