The European Commission has announced, through the Commissioner for the Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Elżbieta Bieńkowska, Thursday 22 November, the presentation of an action plan to improve the standardisation process in the Single Market.
"Standards are often seen as a technical issue, but their important economic impact and benefits are felt by companies and consumers in the Single Market every day", the Commissioner said at a press conference. Ms Bieńkowska explained that she wanted to make the process of preparing harmonised standards more transparent, also to speed up their publication in the Official Journal of the EU (OJ).
In essence, the action plan aims in particular to: - eliminate, as rapidly as possible, the remaining backlog of harmonised standards that are not yet published in the OJ; - streamline internal decision making processes (in particular the decision of publishing the references to harmonised standards in the OJ); - elaborate a guidance document on practical aspects of implementing the Standardisation Regulation; - reinforce, on an on-going basis, the system of consultants to support swift and robust assessments of harmonised standards and timely publication in the Official Journal.
Delays
This Action Plan was presented in parallel with a second Communication on the strengths of the Single Market, particularly at a time when globalisation is faltering. Here, the Commission is asking the co-legislators to move quickly on legislative dossiers. The institution points out that, out of 67 proposals, 44 legislative dossiers are still on the negotiating table.
The institution also explicitly asks the Member States to ensure the proper implementation of European legislation, on the one hand, and above all not to add new regulatory barriers. The Commission calls for a deepening of the single market, particularly in the areas of services, products, taxation and network industries.
Finally, the Commission invites the European Council to conduct a ‘substantive’ reflection among leaders on the single market to set common priorities for action and identify appropriate mechanisms to translate their political commitment to the single market into tangible results at all levels of governance.
This communication follows the European Council's request to the Commission last March to take stock of the situation in the single market.
To consult the Communication on harmonised standards: https://bit.ly/2DCZ542. To consult the Single Market Communication: https://bit.ly/2OUxIo8. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)