European Commission publishes proposal to review the European Standardisation Regulation
On 6 October, the European Commission adopted its legislative proposal to review the European Standardisation Regulation. The file now enters the ordinary legislative procedure involving the European Parliament and Member States in the Council.
The proposal revises Regulation (EU) 1025/2012 and aims to modernise the European standardisation system, make it faster, increase the representation of SMEs, and better support the EU’s strategic interests.
Harmonised standards matter directly to the construction sector as they help manufacturers of construction products to demonstrate compliance with EU legislation. They shape the technical framework in which contractors specify, buy and install construction products. With this proposal, the European Commission responds to requests calling for a more innovation-friendly and responsive European standardisation system. The European Commission estimates that the average time to develop a standard would be shortened from six to four years.
Main elements of the proposal:
- Clearer deadlines for the development of standards requested by the European Commission
- More flexibility to bring solutions to the market: ‘common specifications’ as a targeted fallback, greater use of ‘external technical specifications’ under defined conditions and safeguards, and ‘interim deliverables’ to support conformity while full standards are still being developed.
- Contributions from other standard development organisations where urgent or highly specialised needs arise.
- Stronger participation: tighter obligations on European and national standardisation organisations to ensure effective participation of SMEs, transparency and accountability requirements.
- Free access to standards developed under EU law through dedicated repositories, following the Malamud decision of the European Court of Justice.
- New Expert Centre on European Standardisation for stronger strategic steering and cross-policy coordination, and better EU coordination in international standardisation.
Contractors are users of construction products, and they feel the effects of standardisation delays on site and in tenders. Shorter and more predictable timelines could reduce the uncertainty that when new legal requirements apply before the corresponding standards are available. Free access to standards would be particularly welcome for SMEs and micro-enterprises, which make up the vast majority of construction companies.
At the same time, FIEC will carefully analyse the proposal in detail. ‘Interim deliverables’, ‘external technical specifications’, ‘common specifications’, ‘standard in support of Union legislation’, and ‘referenced standard’ must not create a patchwork of references that makes it harder for contractors to know what applies, or that weakens the quality and legal clarity of the system. Faster procedures must remain compatible with the time and expert capacity that SMEs and contractors can invest in technical committees. Standardisation must also continue to respect the established allocation of responsibilities between manufacturers and contractors, and the boundary between EU competence for construction products and Member State competence for design, assembly and construction works.
Access the Press Release of the European Commission here.