On 23 June, the European Commission published the report on the evaluation of Regulation 1025/2012 on European standardisation, along with the full accompanying study, and at the same time launched an impact assessment that will most likely lead to the revision of the Regulation, expected in mid-2026.
The publishing on the report on the evaluation of Regulation 1025/2012 concludes an 18-months process to which SBS constantly contributed, putting forward the findings and the needs of European SMEs via replies to consultations and targeted questionnaires, interviews and leading the development of the High-Level Forum Workstream 3 report and recommendations on inclusiveness in standardisation at national level.
The evaluation takes a general view and looks back at the effectiveness and efficiency of the Regulation since its entering into force, focusing particularly on these key objectives:
- Faster development of standards and better market responsiveness;
- Standards to support the competitiveness of European businesses;
- Capacity of the European standardisation system to support EU policy objectives;
- Greater inclusiveness in standardisation and stronger role of SMEs and civil society;
- Standards to support the global role of the EU and of European businesses
While the evaluation finds concrete improvements due to the Regulation, particularly in terms of improved inclusiveness and economic efficiency of the system, there are areas that still remain to be addressed. The speed of development of standards, while having a modest improvement in certain areas, is still found insufficient. This in turn also impacts the ability of the European system to be a global standards setter. The inadequate speed and market responsiveness of the system is judged to be particularly concerning in ICT and digital.
SBS recognises the much improved inclusiveness of European standardisation compared to the pre-Regulation 1025 era, while highlighting that further progress in this area is still needed, particularly in the participation of SMEs in standardisation at national level and in international fora. SBS also agrees with the need to improve the speed and market responsiveness of the system, to allow European SMEs to fully take advantage of the benefits of the use of standards.