Standards in Europe

What are standards?

Standards are voluntary guidelines that set out how products, services, and business processes should work. They provide the technical specifications that help make things safe, reliable and easy to use. Standards cover almost everything from safety helmets and phone chargers to accessibilty requirements in public transport.

While the use of standards is voluntary, adopting them can bring important benefits such as improved safety and quality, increased consumer confidence, and access to new market opportunities.

What are harmonised standards?

Harmonised standards are a specific category of European standards developed by European standardisation organisations following a request from the European Commission.

The technical requirements set out in EU legislation are always mandatory. However, the use of harmonised standards is usually voluntary. By applying them, manufacturers and service providers can show that their products or services meet EU law. Alternatively, other technical solutions may also be used, provided they achieve the same level of compliance.

How are standards made?

Standards are developed by private standardisation organisations. These organisations bring together businesses, experts, consumers, and other stakeholders who see a need for common rules that make products, services, and processes work better together.

At the European level, standards are created by three European standardisation organisations (ESOs):

• European Committee for Standardisation (CEN)
• European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation (Cenelec)
• European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI).

At the national level, standardisation is managed by national standardisation bodies (NSBs) which:

• adopt and publish national standards
• adopt all European standards as identical national standards
• and withdraw any conflicting national standards.

Both ESOs and NSBs are required to publish their work programmes and notify the European Commission and stakeholders. These programmes provide early information on which standards are being developed or revised, making it easier for you to anticipate changes and plan compliance.

You can participate in standardisation by joining technical committees or working groups organised by your NSB. This allows you to contribute expertise and influence the development of standards relevant to your sector.

How can I find a standard?

To search for a European standard you can use one of the search tools on the European standardisation organisations' portals:

• Cenelec for electrotechnical standards
• ETSI for telecommunication standards
• CEN for all other sector standards.

Each of the national standardisation bodies (NSBs) has its own search tool. You can find a list of NSBs and access them through their work programmes here.

See also:

• the European consumer voice in standardisation (ANEC)
• the Environmental Coalition on Standards (ECOS)
• the Small Business Standards Association