Quality versus Speed for European Standards

The European standardisation system, as it is known today, is the result of a long-standing and successful public-private cooperation resting on a consensus-building process that involves various actors: industry, public authorities, consumers, trade unions, etc. Some 80.000 experts work in standardisation on a voluntary basis, a large number of them coming from medium size enterprises.  Industry bears up to 95% of the cost of the system, the remaining 5% being covered by public funding (of which 2% from EC/EFTA). 

Almost 4 000 European Standards are cited in the EU Official Journal.  30% of European Standards directly support companies’ compliance with EU Directives thanks to the presumption of conformity with their essential requirements...