STANDARDISATION
Standards are written guidelines which help to do things, or make things, more efficiently or more safely. They are written through a formal prescribed process which involves consultation with relevant bodies and reaching consensus across all interested parties so that the final document meets the needs of business and society.

The European standards are voluntary, Europe-wide agreements which set out criteria for manufactured products.

Standards help to make sure that products are fit for their purpose, safe, comparable and compatible.
The European standards are developed by the three European standards organisations:

CEN (European Committee for Standardisation which deals with all sectors except the electro-technology and telecommunications sectors);
CENELEC (European Committee for Electro technical Standardisation which deals with standards in the electro-technical field);
ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute which covers the telecommunications field).

The references to European product standards under the General Product Safety Directive (GPSD) that confer compliance with the Directive’s safety requirement are published in the Official Journal of the European Union (see below).
Publication of references to standards under GPSD

New Approach Standardisation joint website of the three European standards Organisations (CEN, CENELEC and ETSI) together with both the European Commission and EFTA.

ABOUT THE ISO/IEC INFORMATION CENTRE

The ISO/IEC Information Centre is jointly operated by ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, and IEC, the International Electrotechnical Commission. Its objective is to provide stakeholders with information about standardization, standards and related matters. This site of the ISO/IEC Information Centre serves as a portal to the main information given on various pages of the ISO and IEC Web sites e.g. the ISO and IEC Catalogues, provides an enquiry service for users and gives access to the Web sites of national standards organizations via WSSN, the World Standards Services Network. The Web site also provides information on the relationship between WTO, ISO and IEC with regard to world trade and on standardizing bodies which have accepted the WTO TBT Code of Good Practice for the Preparation, Adoption and Application of standards. In addition, the site contains and provides access to reference publications on standards development, distribution and use and on information sources.

CEN, the European Committee for Standardization, was founded in 1961 by the national standards bodies in the European Economic Community and EFTA countries.

Now CEN is contributing to the objectives of the European Union and European Economic Area with voluntary technical standards which promote free trade, the safety of workers and consumers, interoperability of networks, environmental protection, exploitation of research and development programmes, and public procurement.

CEN is a non-profit making technical organization set up under Belgian law.

The CEN structure

CEN is a system of formal processes to produce standards. The responsibilities are shared principally between:

30 National Members and the representative expertise they assemble from each country. These members vote for and implement European Standards (ENs);
7 Associate Members and two Counsellors;
The CEN Management Centre, Brussels.

CEN works closely with the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC), the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

It also has close liaisons with European trade and professional organizations. More is explained under Relations.

Click for a map of the CEN structure.

CENELEC

CENELEC, the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization, was created in 1973 as a result of the merger of two previous European organizations: CENELCOM and CENEL. Nowadays, CENELEC is a non-profit technical organization set up under Belgian law and composed of the National Electrotechnical Committees of 30 European countries. In addition, 8 National Committees from neighbouring countries are participating in CENELEC work with an Affiliate status.

CENELEC members have been working together in the interests of European harmonization since the 1950s, creating both standards requested by the market and harmonized standards in support of European legislation and which have helped to shape the European Internal Market. CENELEC works with 15,000 technical experts from 30 European countries. Its work directly increases market potential, encourages technological development and guarantees the safety and health of consumers and workers.

CENELEC’s mission is to prepare voluntary electrotechnical standards that help develop the Single European Market/European Economic Area for electrical and electronic goods and services removing barriers to trade, creating new markets and cutting compliance costs.

A Resolution of 7th May 1985 of the European Council formally endorsed the principle of reference to European standards within the relevant European regulatory work (Directives), thereby paving the way to a New Approach in the philosophy of regulations and standards in Europe. In the light of this New Approach, CENELEC is developing and achieving a coherent set of voluntary electrotechnical standards as a basis for the creation of the Single European Market/European Economic Area without internal frontiers for goods and services.

In addition to the traditional European standard deliverables, the dynamic Workshop (CWA: CENELEC Workshop Agreement) has been included in its portfolio, offering an open platform to foster the development of pre-standards for short lifetime products where time-to-market is critical.

The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) produces globally-applicable standards for Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), including fixed, mobile, radio, converged, broadcast and internet technologies.

We are officially recognized by the European Commission as a European Standards Organization. The high quality of our work and our open approach to standardization has helped us evolve into a European roots - global branches operation with a solid reputation for technical excellence.

ETSI is a not-for-profit organization with almost 700 ETSI member organizations drawn from 60 countries world-wide.

ETSI is composed of:

A General Assembly, the highest decision making authority in ETSI
A Board, the executive arm of the General Assembly,
Technical Bodies including Technical Committees, Special Committees, Projects and Partnership Projects,
And a Secretariat which gives support to all the different entities in the Organization Chart.

The above structure has been created to support the activities of the Members of ETSI.

ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is the world's largest developer and publisher of International Standards.

ISO is a network of the national standards institutes of 157

ISO is a non-governmental organization that forms a bridge between the public and private sectors. On the one hand, many of its member institutes are part of the governmental structure of their countries, or are mandated by their government. On the other hand, other members have their roots uniquely in the private sector, having been set up by national partnerships of industry associations.

Therefore, ISO enables a consensus to be reached on solutions that meet both the requirements of business and the broader needs of society

ABOUT THE ISO/IEC INFORMATION CENTRE

The ISO/IEC Information Centre is jointly operated by ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, and IEC,the International Electrotechnical Commission.Its objective is to provide stakeholders with information about standardization, standards and related matters. This site of the ISO/IEC Information Centre serves as a portal to the main information given on various pages of the ISO and IEC Web sites e.g. the ISO and IEC Catalogues, provides an enquiry service for users and gives access to the Web sites of national standards organizations via WSSN, the World Standards Services Network. The Web site also provides information on the relationship between WTO, ISO and IEC with regard to world trade and on standardizing bodies which have accepted the WTO TBT Code of Good Practice for the Preparation, Adoption and Application of standards. In addition, the site contains and provides access to reference publications on standards development, distribution and use and on information sources.

IEC - International Electrotechnical Commission
The IEC is the world's leading organization that prepares and publishes International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies — collectively known as “electrotechnology”. The IEC also manages conformity assessment systems that certify that equipment, systems or components conform to its International Standards.

Mission

The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is the leading global organization that prepares and publishes international standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies. These serve as a basis for national standardization and as references when drafting international tenders and contracts.

Through its members, the IEC promotes international cooperation on all questions of electrotechnical standardization and related matters, such as the assessment of conformity to standards, in the fields of electricity, electronics and related technologies.

The IEC charter embraces all electrotechnologies including electronics, magnetics and electromagnetics, electroacoustics, multimedia, telecommunication, and energy production and distribution, as well as associated general disciplines such as terminology and symbols, electromagnetic compatibility, measurement and performance, dependability, design and development, safety and the environment.

Objectives

The Commission's objectives are to:

meet the requirements of the global market efficiently
ensure primacy and maximum world-wide use of its standards and conformity assessment systems
assess and improve the quality of products and services covered by its standards
establish the conditions for the interoperability of complex systems
increase the efficiency of industrial processes
contribute to the improvement of human health and safety
contribute to the protection of the environment.

Standards

IEC's international standards facilitate world trade by removing technical barriers to trade, leading to new markets and economic growth. Put simply, a component or system manufactured to IEC standards and manufactured in country A can be sold and used in countries B through to Z.

IEC's standards are vital since they also represent the core of the World Trade Organization's Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), whose 100-plus central government members explicitly recognize that international standards play a critical role in improving industrial efficiency and developing world trade. The number of standardization bodies which have accepted the Code of Good Practice for the Preparation, Adoption and Application of Standards presented in Annex 3 to the WTO's TBT Agreement underlines the global importance and reach of this accord.

IEC standards provide industry and users with the framework for economies of design, greater product and service quality, more inter-operability, and better production and delivery efficiency. At the same time, IEC's standards also encourage an improved quality of life by contributing to safety, human health and the protection of the environment.

Conformity assessment

The IEC's multilateral conformity assessment systems, based on its international standards, are truly global in concept and practice, reducing trade barriers caused by different certification criteria in various countries and helping industry to open up new markets. Removing the significant delays and costs of multiple testing and approval allows industry to be faster and cheaper to market with its products.

As technology becomes more complex, users and consumers are becoming more aware of their dependence on products whose design and construction they may not understand. In this situation, reassurance is needed that the product is reliable and will meet expectations in terms of performance, safety, durability and other criteria.

How can the industrial user and the final consumer be sure that the product they buy conforms to the criteria of an IEC standard? The IEC's conformity assessment and product certification systems exist to provide just this reassurance, and the regulatory nature of some products now also sees recognition of the CA systems amongst some government regulators.