Who’s who

European Commission

The European Commission is the EU’s executive body. It represents the interests of the European Union as a whole (not the interests of individual countries). The Commission is composed of the College of Commissioners from 27 EU countries. Together, the 27 Members of the College are the Commission’s political leadership during a 5-year term. They are assigned responsibility for specific policy areas by the President. The Commission’s main roles are to:

propose legislation which is then adopted by the co-legislators, the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers
enforce European law (where necessary with the help of the Court of Justice of the EU)
set a objectives and priorities for action, outlined yearly in the Commission Work Programme and work towards delivering them
manage and implement EU policies and the budget
represent the Union outside Europe (negotiating trade agreements between the EU and other countries, for example.).

The European Commission has its headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, and some services also in Luxembourg. The Commission has Representations in all EU Member States and 139 Delegations across the globe. For more information please click here

European Standards Organisations CEN (European Committee for Standardization)

CEN, is the European Committee for Standardization, that provides a platform for the development of European Standards and other technical documents in relation to various kinds of products, materials, services and processes.
34 National Standardization Bodies make up the CEN membership and they represent CEN in their country. In addition, 15 organizations have the Companion Standardization Body (CSB) status, which is open to a National Standardization Body (NSB), which is a member or corresponding member of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Interested NSBs work closely with CEN to achieve technical harmonization and contribute to the removal of technical barriers to trade between their country and Europe.
More than 200.000 technical experts from industry, associations, public administrations, academia and societal organizations are involved in the CEN network that reaches over 600 million people.
CEN supports standardization activities in relation to a wide range of fields and sectors including: air and space, chemicals, construction, consumer products, defence and security, energy, the environment, food and feed, health and safety, healthcare, ICT, machinery, materials, pressure equipment, services, smart living, transport and packaging.
For further information: https://www.cencenelec.eu/

CENELEC (European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization)

CENELEC is the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization and is responsible for standardization in the electrotechnical engineering field. CENELEC prepares voluntary standards, which help facilitate trade between countries, create new markets, cut compliance costs and support the development of a Single European Market.
CENELEC comprises of members who are the ‘National Electrotechnical Committees’ of European countries. CENELEC membership encompassed 34 countries. In addition to the members, there are 13 other ‘National Electrotechnical Committees’ that participate in the work of CENELEC as ‘Affiliates’ and/or ‘Companion Standardization Bodies’ (CSBs).
Besides European Standards, CENELEC produces other reference documents, which can be developed quickly and easily: Technical Specifications, Technical Reports and Workshop Agreements.
For further information: https://www.cencenelec.eu/

ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute)

ETSI is a leading international ICT standards organization. ETSI produces globally-applicable standards for Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), including fixed, mobile, radio, converged, broadcast and internet technologies.
It is a not-for-profit organization. ETSI has more than 900 member organizations worldwide, drawn from 65 countries and five continents. It includes private companies, research entities, academia, government and public bodies as well as societal stakeholders.
With over 48000 standards published in total and over 2600 standards published annually and 19 million downloads annually, ETSI standards are freely accessible their website.
For further information: http://www.etsi.org/

ANEC (The European Consumer Voice in Standardization)

ANEC is the European consumer voice in standardisation. It represents the European consumer interest in the creation of technical standards, especially those developed to support the implementation of European laws and public policies.
ANEC also has an interest in the application of standards, including market surveillance and enforcement, accreditation and conformity assessment schemes.
It also seek to influence the development or revision of European legislation related to products and services that is likely to affect the consumer, especially where reference is made to standards.
For further information: please visit https://anec.eu/

TIC Council (Testing, Inspection and Certification)

The TIC Council is the new voice of the Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) industry which was launched in December 2018.
Born from the merger of former global TIC industry organizations IFIA and CEOC, the TIC Council brings together more than 90 member companies and organizations from around the world to speak with one voice.
The TIC Council supports the development of international standards and regulations that protect consumers without hindering innovation or adding unnecessary burden on industry.
For further information: please visit https://www.tic-council.org/

CEOC (European Confederation of Organizations for Testing, Inspection, Certification and Prevention)

Not-for-profit organisation representing 29 independent inspection and certification organisations in 22 countries.
Promotes safety, quality and the environment through independent inspection and certification.
Contributes to the standardisation work (CEN, ISO, ISO-CASCO)
Establishes industry best practice and guidance for safety inspection of plant, equipment and machinery and for the inspection of environmental measures.
For further information: http://www.ceoc.com/

EA (European Cooperation for Accreditation)

EA, the European co-operation for Accreditation, is a not-for-profit association. It is formally appointed by the European Commission in Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 to develop and maintain a multilateral agreement of mutual recognition, the EA MLA, based on a harmonized accreditation infrastructure.
EA covers accreditation of laboratories, inspection bodies and certification bodies.
The EA MLA exists to facilitate fair trade, ensure product and service quality and reduce technical barriers to trade.
EA currently has 50 Members. The EA Members are National Accreditation Bodies (NAB) that are officially recognized by their national governments to assess and verify – against international standards – organizations that carry out conformity assessment activities such as certification, verification, inspection, testing and calibration.
For further information: www.european-accreditation.org/

ECOS (European Environmental Citizens Organization for Standardization)

ECOS – the Environmental Coalition on Standards – is an international NGO with a network of members and experts advocating environmentally friendly technical standards, policies and laws, and whose vision is a healthy and clean environment, protected by robust rules that respect nature and its resources.
ECOS drives change by providing the environmental voice and expertise to policymakers and industry players, aiming for strong environmental principles included and implemented in standards, policies and laws.
ECOS work areas are broad – from clean transition to a circular economy or combating climate change – and strongly supports an inclusive, open and transparent standardisation system at national, regional and international level.
For further information: http://www.ecostandard.org/

EFSA (European Food Safety Authority)

EFSA is a European agency funded by the European Union that operates independently of the European legislative and executive institutions (Commission, Council, Parliament) and EU Member States.
It was set up in 2002 following a series of food crises in the late 1990s to be a source of scientific advice and communication on risks associated with the food chain. The agency was legally established by the EU under the General Food Law – Regulation 178/2002.
The General Food Law created a European food safety system in which responsibility for risk assessment (science) and for risk management (policy) are kept separate. EFSA is responsible for the former area, and also has a duty to communicate its scientific findings to the public.
For further information: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/

EFTA (European Free Trade Association)

EFTA is an intergovernmental organisation set up for the promotion of free trade and economic integration to the benefit of its member states.
Today its member states are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
The EFTA countries and the European Commission closely cooperate on creating and implementing a European standardisation policy. This includes parallel financing of standards-related work carried out by CEN, CENELEC and ETSI. EFTA Member States use the same standards as EU countries and have the same conformity assessment procedure.
For further information: http://www.efta.int/

ETUI (The Health and Safety Department of the European Trade Union Institute)

Aims at promoting high standards of health and safety at the workplace throughout Europe.
Runs networks of experts on technical standardisation (ergonomics, safety of machinery) and hazardous substances (classification, risk assessment, setting occupational exposure limits).
An associate member of CEN.
Financially supported by the European Community.
For further information: http://hesa.etui-rehs.org

EURAMET (European Association of National Metrology Institutes)

EURAMET is the Regional Metrology Organisation (RMO) of Europe.
It coordinates the cooperation of National Metrology Institutes (NMI) in Europe in fields such as research in metrology, traceability of measurements to the SI units, international recognition of national measurement standards and related Calibration and Measurement Capabilities (CMC).
Through Knowledge Transfer and cooperation among its members EURAMET facilitates the development of the national metrology infrastructures.
EURAMET is responsible for the elaboration and execution of the European Metrology Research Programme (EMRP) and the European Metrology Programme for Innovation and Research (EMPIR) which is designed to encourage collaboration between European National Metrology Institutes (NMIs) and partners in industry or academia.
For further information: http://www.euramet.org/

EUROLAB (European Federation of National Associations of Measurement, Testing and Analytical Laboratories)

EUROLAB is since October 1998 a legal entity in the form of an international association under Belgian law (A.I.S.B.L. – Association Internationale Scientifique sans But Lucratif) setting it as the European Federation of National Associations of Measurement, Testing and Analytical Laboratories.
EUROLAB was created in Brussels on April 27, 1990 on the basis of a memorandum of understanding, signed by delegations representing the private and public laboratories of 17 out of the 19 countries of the EEC and EFTA.
It formulates and voices the opinion of European laboratories regarding political and technical issues having a direct impact on their activity, both on the European scene and worldwide.
Eurolab coordinates by interfacing with all European organisations having activities of interest to the laboratory community and striving to avoid duplication of efforts and activities.
For further information: http://www.eurolab.org/

WELMEC (European Cooperation in Legal Metrology)

WELMEC is the European cooperation in the field of legal metrology. Its Members are representative national authorities responsible for legal metrology in European Union and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) member states.
WELMEC has at present 31 Members and 8 Associate Members.
WELMEC state their mission as being “to develop and maintain mutual acceptance among its members and to maintain effective cooperation to achieve a harmonised and consistent approach to the societies needs for legal metrology and for the benefit of all stakeholders including consumers and businesses.
For further information: http://www.welmec.org/

European standard-related projects in India

SESEI (Seconded European Standardization Expert for India)

The Seconded European Standardization Expert for India (SESEI) project was launched in March 2013. A three-year, project it is currently in SESEI IV Phase.
The project is supported and operated by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN), the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), as well as by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Enterprise and Industry (EC DG ENTR) and by the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).
The SESEI’s mission is to enhance the visibility of European standardization activities, increase the cooperation between Indian and European standardization bodies, supports European companies facing standardization related issues hampering market access to India.
SESEI supports India in standardization related aspects of its integration in the WTO trading system, by identifying all potential opportunities for enhanced international cooperation and global harmonization of standards.
For further information: http://www.sesei.eu/

Seconded European Standardization Expert in India