MEPs join discussion on Joint Initiative

Participants from the European Parliament, the European Commission, and various stakeholder organisations involved in standardisation debated the Joint Initiative on European Standardisation (JIES) on April 20, at a lunch debate organised by CEN-CENELEC and hosted by IMCO Vice-Chair MEP Catherine Stihler (S&D).

JIES aims to modernise the standardisation system and bolster the public-private partnership between European legislators and the standardisation community. Participants shared their viewpoints on the Joint Initiative and in particular, the role of standards in supporting the Single Market Strategy, the REFIT programme, international trade, and other European policies and initiatives.

The Chairman of CEN-CENELEC Presidential Committee Friedrich Smaxwil opened the discussion by stressing the need for ensuring a single policy on the use of standards in support of regulatory and policy objectives, that would be coherently applied in all sectors and by all stakeholders.

In her speech, Kerstin Jorna, DG GROW Director for a Single Market Policy, referred to European standardisation as ‘one platform nourishing multiple policies’. ANEC Secretary-General Stephen Russell highlighted the need for effective participation of societal stakeholders, including underpinning confidence and legitimacy in the system, stressing that this is only possible through sufficient public funding.

Taking part of the debate, ECOS’ Laura Degallaix reiterated the importance of prioritising timeliness of the standards development process over speed, so as to avoid hampering inclusiveness and the quality of the deliverables.

All impulse statements prior to the debate can be found here.