European Standardisation: IMCO draft report published

On 4 January 2012, the European Parliament’s Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) published its draft report on the proposal for a regulation on European Standardisation. In this draft report, the rapporteur Lara Comi (Group of the European People's Party [Christian Democrats], Italy) notes the importance of the “principle of national delegation as a cornerstone of the European standardisation system”. In addition, she highlights the need for ensuring direct participation of stakeholders at European level “by maintaining financial support for the European organisations established to represent those public interests”. Regarding the time it takes to develop a standard, the rapporteur notes that whilst it is essential that this occurs within a reasonable timeframe, it must not be to the “detriment of the principles of openness, quality, transparency and consensus among all interested parties”. Nevertheless, Ms Comi believes that the standard setting process could be accelerated by establishing a consultation phase between the European Standards Organisations (ESOs), the European Commission and relevant stakeholders prior to the issuing of a mandate “in order to ensure the market relevance of the requested standards”.

Regarding next steps, the deadline for the tabling of amendments to the draft report in IMCO is 7 February 2012. The vote in IMCO is expected on 21 March 2012, with the vote in Plenary scheduled for 22 May 2012.

More information: Draft Report