EU standards policy

Standardisation is a voluntary process based on consensus amongst different economic actors (industry, SMEs, consumers, workers, public authorities, etc) . It is carried out by independent standards bodies, acting at national, European and international level. Originally conceived as an instrument by and for economic operators, standardisation has been used increasingly by authorities. The Community has made, since the mid-eighties, an increasing use of standards in its policies: first in the fields of technical harmonisation, ICT and public procurement, later also in areas such as environment, transport, energy, competitiveness and consumer protection.