On 8 July, the Spanish Association for Standardization, UNE, hosted the presentation in Spain of the new European Standardization Strategy, which reinforces the key role of technical standards for a resilient, green and digital single European market, and provides greater support for European strategic autonomy, global leadership and competitiveness.
This strategy, launched by the European Commission early this year, also reaffirms the important role of the European standardization organizations CEN, CENELEC and ETSI, of which the UNE is a part as the Spanish member, in developing standards that promote the internal market and the green and digital transitions.
With five key sets of actions, the Strategy also underlines the importance of the principle of national delegation in the development of European standards and the necessary leadership of European members in the development of international standards in ISO and IEC in areas of strategic priority for European institutions and economic agents. It also upholds the unique nature of the European Standardization System, based on markets, which is inclusive and structured through coherent, effective and robust public-private collaboration.
The event was attended by leading experts who analyzed the key role of standardization in Europe, both for the single market and on a global scale.
In the words of Javier García, UNE's Director General, "this strategy recognizes that standards form the basis of the EU's single market and that the harmonized standards published in the last 30 years have enabled companies to demonstrate compliance with EU legislation, yielding great benefits to both companies and consumers. Standards create fair conditions in the internal market and reinforce the strategic autonomy of a stronger Europe in the world, as well as the safety of European citizens, providing an effective response to the major challenges of society and companies."
Galo Gutiérrez, Director General of Industry and SMEs of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, noted that "European standardization is a key factor in industrial competitiveness. European standardization bodies must play a significant role on an international level, and our national standardization body (UNE) must be the toolhat channels and promotes the standardization needs of our industrial fabric."
Elena Santiago, Director General of CEN and CENELEC, stated that "the New European Standardization Strategy is the culmination of a broad collective reflection and close collaboration with the European Commission on how to adapt the European Standardization System to the future. As such, it recognizes the strategic value of standards and provides a clear framework for renewed collaboration with European institutions. The CEN and CENELEC community is ready to commit to ensuring Europe's long-term sustained recovery and resilience and to help Europe keep its promises".
The event included a panel on "Standardization in support of public policies" moderated by Paloma García, Director of Standardization Programmes and Stakeholder Engagement at UNE. Also taking part in the panel were José Manuel Prieto, Deputy Director General of Industrial Quality and Safety at MINCOTUR; Miguel Ángel Bermúdez, Deputy Director General of Standards and Technical Studies at the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda; and Pedro Martín Jurado, international adviser on Technical Standards at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation's Office for Digital Telecommunications and Infrastructure. The event was closed out by Carlos Esteban, UNE's president.
Competitive edge for companies
The Strategy itself recognizes that "European standardization operates in an increasingly competitive global context" and it provides companies with a "competitive edge in terms of market access and technological roll-out". It also underscores the need to address the "increasingly rapid pace of innovation", to "put standards at the center of a green and resilient economy" and to "enhance the global role of the European Standardization System".
The Spanish version of this article can be found on UNE’s website.
