On 23 January, the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) of the European Parliament held a hearing on "Standardisation in the Single Market". The event was held against the backdrop of the 30th anniversary of the EU Single Market. Standardisation plays a key role in ensuring the free movement of goods and services. IMCO is currently preparing an own-initiative report on a standardisation strategy for the Single Market.
The hearing consisted of two panel discussions. One dealt with the current challenges and strategic priorities of European standardisation, the other with its future importance and role.
The following issues were discussed in particular:
- How can the potential of standardisation be better exploited for the benefit of the Single Market?
- How can the involvement of stakeholders, and in particular of the research community, in standardisation be improved? The example of a standard for assistance dogs showed that the association for the blind was not sufficiently able to participate in the standardisation process owing to a lack of financial resources.
- How can delays in the standardisation process and the current backlog of standards be reduced? According to the European Commission, "common specifications", which can be developed more quickly in comparison to standards, should only be used in exceptional cases. The exact procedure still needs to be defined.
Video recording of the hearing
Programme and presentations
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