The role of European standardisation
Standardisation in the framework of European policies and legislation
Standardisation is an integral part of the EU's effort to achieve the Lisbon goals by carrying out better regulation and by simplifying legislation, by increasing competitiveness of enterprises and by removing barriers of trade at international level.
On 18 October 2004, the Commission adopted a Communication 
on "the Role of European Standardisation in the Framework of European Policies and Legislation" accompanied by a staff working paper [80 KB] dealing with "the challenges for European Standardisation". Both documents analyse the current situation of European standardisation and identify the key areas where the European standardisation system and the instruments available to European standardisation policy can and should be further improved. Both documents are a response to the Council Conclusions of March 2002 and the Council Resolution of October 1999 [40 KB] on "the Role of Standardisation in Europe" in which the Council had acknowledged the important role of standards and invited the Commission to analyse the current situation of European standardisation and to respond to the challenges the European standards system is faced with.
In its Conclusions of December 2004 [113 KB] on "European Standardisation", the Council has acknowledged the Commission's findings and invited the Commission to pursue the activities proposed in the Communication and in the staff working paper.
More information on the context and background [14 KB] .
