Transparency is certainly one of the main attributes of European Standardisation. CEN and CENELEC, and their national members (31 countries) constantly work to ensure maximum transparency at all stages in the development of European Standards.
• The programme of work, which includes information on any project as soon as a decision has been taken to develop a European Standard, is publicly available on the CEN and CENELEC websites and is updated every day. It is also available with the national members.
• The drafting and consensus building take place in technical bodies. Participation in these phases is essentially through national members, who generally set up mirror committees open to national stakeholders. Moreover, participation through relevant existing European professional federations or other organizations representing societal interests (for instance consumers) is also possible.
• At a certain stage in the development of a European Standard, a CEN/CENELEC Enquiry is carried out. In concrete terms, the draft is sent to all CEN/CENELEC Members in order for them to conduct a Public Enquiry in their country. Commenting on drafts during Public Enquires is becoming easier and more user-friendly in a number of countries through electronic tools (online consultation). There are a significant number of CEN and CENELEC members, who make the drafts freely accessible during the Public Enquiry, which allows anyone to comment.
• Finally, information on any finalised European Standard is publicly available on the CEN and CENELEC websites and is updated every day. This information is also available with the national members.
This shows the high degree of transparency of our system.
In addition to that, a number of initiatives are being undertaken to further improve transparency, to make it easier to trace standards, to offer guidance on how to look for a standard and to facilitate access to, and participation in, European standardization. A number of recommendations included in the CEN-CENELEC study on SME access to European Standardisation have already been implemented and the implementation of the rest is being worked on.
As immediate examples:
• The setting up of a helpdesk for SMEs at CCMC, with contact points in every National Standard Bodies;
• The decision to make available on the CEN and CENELEC websites, as well as on the websites of the National Standards Bodies, the scopes of the European Standards and projects under development;
• The publication of a Guide to help standards’ writers take SMEs needs into account
Although some of these measures refer explicitly to SMEs, all these initiatives lead or will lead to an improvement of transparency and an easier access for all stakeholders.
For more information regarding CENELEC’s work, please see the Home Page here.
