With the European Agile Specification (EAS), CEN/CENELEC is seeking to introduce a new standardisation product that will enable technical specifications to be developed and made available within a short space of time. According to the proposal, the new format could potentially give rise to a presumption of conformity. The aim is to permit a swifter response to new market-related, technological and regulatory requirements.
The European Commission is seeking to accelerate procedures in order to keep pace with rapid innovation cycles. With the instrument of common specifications, the Commission has created the option of a fallback solution for the event that harmonised standards are inadequate or do not exist at all. The Commission is also considering drawing on outcomes produced by standardisation organisations beyond those already established in Europe (ESOs).
For its part, CEN/CENELEC has presented the EAS to the European Commission as a new option for accelerating standardisation processes. This standardisation product is to be developed within the existing European standardisation system, and is to be able to give rise to the presumption of conformity.
Development process planned by CEN/CENELEC
In accordance with a decision taken by the CEN/CENELEC Technical Board, EASs are to serve as an intermediate step towards a full European standard. The procedure for EASs’ development differs from the normal standardisation process in that an EAS is to be published as soon as the Technical Committee (TC) deems it safe, stable and sufficiently robust. The EAS is then to undergo a cycle of continuous revision until it is either transposed into a European standard by way of the normal procedure, or withdrawn.
Development of an EAS is to be based on a normal new work item proposal (NWIP). The responsible TC is to vote within four weeks on whether interest exists in principle in addressing the topic. Consistent with the principle of national delegation, the national standardisation organisations are to be involved in voting, conduct consultations at national level and delegate experts to the working group. The outcome of the development process is to be open at the outset of development: the final form of publication is to be determined only in the course of the process.
Plans are for EASs to be developed in the responsible working group (WG), optionally even before the work item proposal has been voted upon. It is also envisaged that a smaller group (a drafting team) within the WG will prepare an initial draft. Once sufficient progress has been made on the draft and it meets with the support of the WG, the latter is to decide whether to publish the document as an EAS. To this end, a consensus is to be sought within the WG, but with no obligation for a consensus actually to be reached. Unlike the normal standardisation procedure, provision is not made for a public enquiry. The subsequent vote in the TC should be held within four weeks. Should the result of the vote be positive, the EAS is to be published without addressing any comments that may have arisen in the TC. Should the TC vote not to publish the document as an EAS, it is to be returned for revision to the WG, which should then consider the TC’s comments.
The EAS is to be published in English by the national standardisation organisations. Translations are to be possible, but must not delay the development and publication process. An EAS must not contradict an existing European standard. No obligation is to exist for the EAS to be adopted at national level, nor any requirement that national standards conflicting with it be withdrawn.
Once an EAS has been published, the TC is to decide whether it should be revised and republished as an EAS or transposed into a full EN standard by way of the usual procedure. Each EAS is to be reviewed at least every three years for its market relevance and potential for further development into a European standard. A pilot phase is currently in progress in which selected TCs are testing the EAS process.
Presumption of conformity only for full standards
KAN discussed the introduction of EASs at the KAN meeting in November 2025. KAN’s view is that efforts to accelerate the standards development process must not erode the fundamental principles of standardisation. Technical content that has been developed under time pressure and may therefore be deficient, and also dispensing with a public enquiry, reduce the legitimacy of standardisation and prevent the essential feedback concerning technical and practical issues.
KAN therefore takes the view that only full standards should give rise to a presumption of conformity, as these are developed in the normal European standardisation process with extensive participation by all stakeholders, conducting of a public enquiry, and full consensus-building. KAN intends to publish a position paper on the introduction of EASs.
Katharina Schulte
schulte@kan.de