European Standardization

CEN – Committee for European Standardization, CENELEC – European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization, and ETSI – European Telecommunications Standards Institute are the three European Standardization Organizations (ESOs) recognized as competent in the area of voluntary technical standardization. These organizations provide a standardization framework to prepare voluntary standards that support the achievement of a Single European market for goods and services. By creating standards, the ESOs help facilitate trade between countries, create new markets and cut compliance costs. European Standards give manufacturers and service providers direct access to over 30 countries and an estimate of 500 million consumers in Europe. They create competitive advantage, inspire trust, and reduce business cost whilst opening markets. In CEN and CENELEC, European standards are developed according to the principles of national delegation, whereby their members – the designated National Standards Bodies (NSBs) in each of the 27 EU Member States, the EFTA countries, and the EU membership candidate country Croatia – are responsible for discussing and building consensus on standardization items.