In the event that the European Commission has requested the European standardisation organisations to develop a harmonised standard, but the request has not been accepted, the harmonised standard has not been delivered within the deadline or does not comply with the request, the European Commission has created a fallback solution in form of the common specifications. KAN has published a position paper on this instrument.
In the paper, KAN calls for
- A single binding horizontal act that governs the process for development, adoption and publication of common specifications
- Common specifications to be developed and adopted in accordance with clear, legally binding criteria and within a transparent process
- All stakeholders, including societal interest groups such as that for occupational safety and health, to be involved in the process
- The European Commission to make use of the instrument of common specifications only in exceptional cases
Common specifications are EU implementing acts that are intended to ensure that the public interest, such as the protection of health and safety, is nevertheless satisfied in cases where harmonised standards do not exist or are inadequate. They are technical specifications that aim to harmonise product requirements in the same way as standards.
KAN position paper “The European Commission Instrument of Common Specifications”