Finland supports stronger EU role in international standardisation

NordenBladet — At the beginning of February, the European Commission adopted a new EU standardisation strategy and simultaneously issued a proposal for amending the regulation on standardisation. On 17 March, the Government submitted to Parliament information on the strategy, amendments to the regulation on standardisation and Finland’s position on them.The European Union has prepared a new standardisation strategy to improve the functioning of the system and to promote the utilisation of standards, particularly in support of the green transition and digitalisation. The aim of the proposed regulation is to change decision-making on European standardisation so that the standards can take better account of European values, for example.On 17 March, the Government submitted to Parliament information on the standardisation strategy, amendments to the related regulation on standardisation and Finland’s positions on them. A Europe communication on the standardisation strategy and a Union communication on the amendment of the standardisation regulation were submitted to Parliament.Standards are commonly agreed requirements or recommendations for products and services, for example. They improve the quality, safety and compatibility of products and services. The aim of the new EU standardisation strategy is to ensure that standards meet the needs of a changing world and that they are used to support the EU’s competitiveness to the best possible extent. The new strategy also takes into consideration the importance of standards for business and society as a whole as well as the objective of international leadership in European standardisation. Well-functioning standardisation supports the EU internal marketIn general, Finland welcomes the standardisation strategy and the proposal to amend the regulation. A well-functioning and efficient standardisation system promotes the effectiveness of standards and supports the functioning of the internal market and the transition towards a climate neutral economy. The proposed amendment to the regulation supports the strategy’s objective of developing European standardisation.One of the strategy’s objectives is to strengthen the EU’s role in standardisation at the international level. There is a great deal of competition for leadership in international standardisation. According to the new standardisation strategy, the EU’s key sectors should make more efficient use of standardisation.