A standard (French: Norme, German: Norm) is a technical publication that is used as a rule, guideline or definition. Essentially, it is a repeatable way of doing something, developed through consensus. Standards are created by bringing together all interested parties including manufacturers, consumers and regulators of a particular material, product, process or service. Everyone benefits from standardization through increased product safety and quality as well as lower transactions costs and prices.
The definition of a standard is given in Part 3 of the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations.
A European Standard (EN) is a document that has been adopted by one of the three recognized European Standardization Organizations: CEN, CENELEC or ETSI. An EN is available, in principle, in the three official languages of CEN (English, French and German).
European Standards are a key component of the Single European Market. Perhaps rather technical and 'hidden' from the public and media, but they represent one of the most important issues for business. These technical documents - perceived as irrelevant to some organizations - are crucial for facilitating trade and hence have high visibility among manufacturers inside and outside Europe. A standard represents a model specification, a technical solution against which a market can trade. It codifies best practice and is usually state of the art.
In essence, standards relate to products, services or systems. Today standards are no longer created solely for technical reasons but have also become platforms to enable greater social inclusiveness and engagement with technology, as well as convergence and interoperability within a growing market across industries.
Developing a European Standard
In CEN, the development of an EN is governed by the principles of consensus, openness and transparency.
Consensus reflects the economic and social interests of 30 CEN Member countries channeled through their National Standards Bodies. The development of the standards is driven by business and each one is drafted by experts in the field. In building European consensus, industry, trade federations, public authorities, academia and NGO representatives are invited to contribute to the standardization process. It is this open participation which accounts for the strength of European standardization.
The standardization process includes the following steps:
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Proposal – Starting the work
In principle, any interested party is able to introduce a proposal for new work in CEN. Most standardization work is proposed through the National Standards Bodies.
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The appropriate CEN Technical Committee makes a decision on the adoption of the proposal. An accepted standardization project is allocated to one of its working groups for the drafting of a standard.
If the proposal is for a new field of standardization activity, a decision is made by the CEN Technical Board first. The participants in the Technical Board include all National Standards Bodies and all standardization partners such as consumers, trade unions, European industry and the counselors namely the European Commission (EC) and European Free Trade Association Secretariat (EFTA).
One of the principles of standardization in CEN is that, once a project to develop a standard has been accepted, the National Standards Bodies put all national activity within the scope of the project on hold. This means that they do not initiate new projects, nor revise existing standards at national level. This obligation is called 'standstill' and allows efforts to be focused on the development of European Standards.
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The EN is then developed by experts appointed in a working group of the Technical Committee .
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CEN Enquiry – public comment at national level
Once the draft of a European Standard is prepared, it is released for public comment, a process known in CEN as the 'CEN Enquiry'. During the public commenting stage, everyone who has an interest (e.g. manufacturers, public authorities, consumers, etc.) may comment on the draft. These views are collated by the 30 National Standards Bodies and analyzed by the CEN Technical Committee.
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Adoption by weighted vote
Taking into account the comments resulting from the CEN Enquiry, a final version is drafted which is then submitted to the 30 CEN Members for a weighted Formal Vote.
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Publication of the European Standard (EN)
After its adoption, each of the 30 National Standards Bodies publishes the new EN as an identical national standard and withdraws any national standards that conflict with it. Hence, one EN becomes a national standard in the 30 member countries of CEN. This is unique in the world and guarantees that a manufacturer, for example, has easier access to the market of all these European countries when applying European Standards.
For example, the EN on toy safety, EN 71, has been adopted as NF EN 71 by AFNOR in France and as EVS EN 71 by EVS in Estonia. These standards are made available by the National Standards Body in each country.
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Review of the EN
To ensure that a European Standard is still current, it is reviewed at least once every five years. A review is initiated by the Secretary of the Technical Committee (TC) after 4 years. It may be carried out earlier at the request of the TC, the Technical Bureau (BT), a CEN National Member, the European Commission, the European Free Trade Association Secretariat or the CEN Management Centre (CMC). If no TC exists, it is the responsibility of the BT to decide, after close examination, on the proposal prepared by the CMC.
As a result, the EN may be confirmed, withdrawn, amended of revised.
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Harmonized Standards
Harmonized Standards are European Standards that are produced by CEN, CENELEC, or ETSI under a mandate given by the European Commission. In general, these standards support the essential requirements of a New Approach Directive.
A list of Harmonized Standards is available here. Please click on 'Subject (short title of directive)' to view the list of titles and references of harmonized standards under the directive.
Beyond Europe
European Standards are drafted in a global perspective. CEN has signed the 'Vienna Agreement' with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) through which common European and international standards can be developed in parallel. More than 30% of the whole collection of the European Standards adopted by CEN are identical to the international standards. These EN/ISO standards have the dual benefits of automatic and identical implementation in 30 CEN Member countries, and global applicability...