Slide 1 ANSI Annual Conference 2002 Breaking Down Border: Business, Standards and Trade European regulation and standardization, where will it be in 2010? presented by Evangelos Vardakas Director European Commission

ANSI Annual Conference 2002 Breaking Down Border: Business, Standards and Trade Slide 2 European regulation and standardization, where will it be in 2010? Agenda  Long term commitment to better regulation  New Approach  Europe: A partnership relation  The System  The invisible but important differences  The next 10 years in Europe  Conditions for Convergence

ANSI Annual Conference 2002 Breaking Down Border: Business, Standards and Trade Slide 3 Better Regulation A continuous process since the 1980’s The 1992 single market initiative: prime example of regulatory reform Business Impact Assessment Simpler Legislation for the Internal Market White Paper on European Governance (July 2001) Communication on Improving and Simplifying the Regulatory Environment (March and December 2001)

ANSI Annual Conference 2002 Breaking Down Border: Business, Standards and Trade Slide 4 Next Steps “Better Regulation” Action Plan (June 2002, Sevilla)  4 priority areas addressing the whole legislative life-cycle Simplify & improve existing legislation Better transposition & application of EU law A new regulatory culture! Improve preparation of new legislation

ANSI Annual Conference 2002 Breaking Down Border: Business, Standards and Trade Slide 5 New Approach “Invented” in 1985 Used for more than 20 broad sectors of industry and risks Separation of responsibilities  Essential requirements in law  Solutions “deemed to satisfy” in standards Common and thin framework legislation in Europe Standards are only “fast-track” solutions; not obligatory

ANSI Annual Conference 2002 Breaking Down Border: Business, Standards and Trade Slide 6 Europe: A partnership relation Recognition of the accountability of the system Support for continuous improvement of the balance of the interests represented Recognition, through jurisprudence and laws at national level of a “special” character of the “Standard” System of mandates for elaboration of standards to support legislation and policies Some financial support

ANSI Annual Conference 2002 Breaking Down Border: Business, Standards and Trade Slide 7 The system Recognition of the principles of WTO/TBT Independence of both the European and the National bodies National representation Coherence of the collection of Standards Clear distinction of the role of public administrations within standardisation Safeguard clauses in legislation making open reference to standards

ANSI Annual Conference 2002 Breaking Down Border: Business, Standards and Trade Slide 8 The invisible but important differences Terms the same… “Standard is a recognised rule of the art” (Germany) Legislator does not suffer extensively from the NIH syndrome Recognition from Governments The “egoistic” hunting of sales by the standards bodies Clear articulation and hierarchy of bodies (Sectoral, National, European, International)

ANSI Annual Conference 2002 Breaking Down Border: Business, Standards and Trade Slide 9 The next 10 years in Europe More than 25 Countries (probably also outside Europe) Other regional bodies to emerge outside Europe The next (second?) generation of European Standards will be present Development of “post-” and “peri-” standardisation activities Joint activities of National Standards bodies New areas of activities (new deliverables, co- regulation)

ANSI Annual Conference 2002 Breaking Down Border: Business, Standards and Trade Slide 10 Conditions for convergence? Metrication Readiness for change Recognition of single International (worldwide) bodies and promotion of them Agreement on Good Regulatory Practices Agreement on higher level objectives of … safety, interoperability, consumer information/protection … Co-operation and not Conflict

ANSI Annual Conference 2002 Breaking Down Border: Business, Standards and Trade Slide 11 Thank you for your attention