On Friday 2 December, the European Commission announced that Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova had joined the European standardisation system, namely the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC).
In a press release, the EU institution explains that CEN or CENELEC affiliate status is available to any national standards body of a country officially recognised as a candidate or potential candidate for membership of the European Union.
This affiliation allows for the participation of national experts in all European standardisation activities, to allow for a progressive alignment with European standards, bringing their national standardisation system closer to the European system. The final objective is to facilitate harmonisation with the European single market.
The co-legislators recently agreed to change the European standardisation decision-making process to better protect EU interests from third country interference (see EUROPE 13068/21). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)