What is the forum?
The High-Level Forum on European Standardisation (the forum) is an expert group of the European Commission. It was set up in January 2023 as requested by the EU Strategy on Standardisation.
The purpose of the forum is to identify standardisation priorities in support of EU policies and legislation, and to discuss horizontal issues such as international leadership and education and skills, in a multi-stakeholder setting.
A 'Sherpa' sub-group supports the forum as the main operational body dealing with the technical preparatory work undertaken and later endorsed by the forum.
What are the objectives of the forum?
The forum serves 3 main objectives
- to support a green, digital and more resilient single market by identifying the related standardisation priorities and agreeing on avenues for common action
- to bring more alignment between European policy priorities, industrial innovation and investment activities and standardisation actions
- to discuss possible work strands in support of the implementation of the EU Strategy on Standardisation in a multi-stakeholder set-up
The work and expected outcomes
The forum is expected to
- inform the exercise of the Annual Union Work Programme (AUWP) on European Standardisation
- support key activities for the implementation of the EU strategy on Standardisation
- make recommendations on how to address specific bottlenecks on standardisation, including on how to improve the European standardisation system, how to improve European representation in international standardisation bodies, how to gather the right level of expertise, etc.
Since it was setup, the forum has been actively working to identify priorities that are then fed into the AUWPs. At the beginning of the mandate, members selected strategic areas around which specific work was organised in the form of workstreams. Those are structured into sectoral - green, digital and resilience - and horizontal, such as 'Education & skills' and 'International'. Some workstreams have already produced deliverables such as recommendations or reports (see below).
Reports and other deliverables
The purpose of this section is to make available important deliverables of the forum with some essential information on each of them.
| Document | Content | Date of the forum’s endorsement |
| Recommendations on increasing funding for standardisation activities at international level | The critical importance of enhancing EU participation to standardisation activities at an international level was already recognised by the standardisation strategy in 2022. In 2023, the forum outlined the resource shortages as one of the reasons currently hindering effective EU representation and influence in international standardisation fora. Through a deep dive driven by a group of members, the forum has released a report that offers a set of recommendations to optimise funding for standardisation, with a focus on EU strategic interests and the need for a robust presence in international standards technical committees (TCs). These recommendations aim to address the challenges faced by EU companies, including SMEs, and to align standardisation activities with the EU’s industrial policy and innovation goals. This report serves as a crucial guide to strengthen the EU’s role in shaping international standards. | 10 November 2024 |
| Workstream 6 ‘Low-carbon cement”: Conclusions and recommendations | The cement industry contributes significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions, particularly due to traditional Portland cement production. As part of the construction sector's decarbonisation efforts, the development of low-carbon cements is essential. New types of cement with reduced CO2 emissions are critical to achieving European emissions targets. The challenge lies in updating the European Standardisation System (ESS) to support the widespread adoption of these innovative materials while maintaining quality and safety standards in construction. To address these issues, Workstream 6 has produced recommendations aimed at enabling the scaling up of low-carbon cement innovations within the ESS framework. | 18 September 2024 |
| Annual Activity Report for 2023 | The report summarises all activities undertaken by the forum throughout 2023 and provides insights into the work plan for 2024. It also reflects progress made in various workstreams until 15 November 2023. | 21 December 2023 |
| Pledge on education and skills on standards | The forum launched a pledge to enhance education and skills in standardisation. This pledge was signed during the forum's second meeting on 30 November 2023.
| 30 November 2023 |
| Workstream 7 ‘Wind power’: Conclusions and recommendations | The European Green Deal and RepowerEU call for a strong cooperation across the energy sector to achieve Europe's ambitious green transition goals. Wind power, a cost-effective renewable energy source, faces challenges at both European and international levels. To address these challenges, Workstream 7 under the remit of the forum has outlined key challenges and discussed how standardisation can help. | 8 January 2024 |
| Workstream 14 ‘Data Interoperability’: Report | The ever-increasing importance of data is reflected in substantial efforts by the European Commission to establish regulations that help create a vibrant data ecosystem in the EU while safeguarding EU civil rights as well as technological sovereignty of the EU. Workstream 14 on Data Interoperability elaborated a report to define priority areas where data interoperability needs to be further enhanced through standardisation, focusing in particular, but not exclusively, on interoperability across common European data spaces. | 27 March 2024 |
| Workstream 15 ‘Critical Raw Materials’: Conclusions and recommendations | The energy transition relies on the deployment of renewable energies and electric mobility which require the extraction of critical raw materials (CRMs). The EU is heavily dependent on imports and is working on ensuring a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials. On 23 May 2024, the EU Critical Raw Materials Act entered into force and will help the EU to ensure a secure and sustainable CRM supply chain in the stages of mining, processing and recycling. Standardisation is an asset for the transparent and efficient functioning of worldwide markets for raw materials, considered 'critical' or 'strategic' in the EU, promoting European standards. Workstream 15 on Critical Raw Materials elaborated priorities and recommendations on the work on international and European standards in connection with the CRM Act. | 17 May 2024 |
| Workstream 3 ‘NSBs – peer review (+ SMEs & civil society inclusiveness)’: Report and recommendations | The report, based on the findings of questionnaires, qualitative interviews and workshops, analyses inclusiveness and participation of all stakeholders in standardisation at national level, in particular
The report is accompanied by a set of recommendations, aimed at policymakers, NSBs and stakeholders, to boost access and participation and make national standardisation more inclusive for all stakeholders. | 20 September 2024 |
Composition
The forum brings together high-level representatives of up to 60 members consisting of stakeholders from EU/EEA countries, European standardisation organisations, industry, civil society and academia. The current forum comprises 55 members. The remaining 5 seats are subject to a continuously open call (without deadline), published on 16 February 2023 on the Calls for application page. Applications can be received at any time throughout the existence of the group.
Its shadow Sherpa sub-group comprises a maximum of 3 representatives (one for each sector of expertise - green, digital and resilience) per member.
The Sherpa level meets when required, whereas meetings of the forum are at most twice a year. The forum and its sub-group shall operate in compliance with the horizontal rules on the creation and operation of Commission expert groups.
All information relevant to the forum is publicly available on the Commission’s Expert Groups transparency registry.
Background
The forum was first presented in the February 2022 Commission Communication, EU Strategy on Standardisation: Setting global standards in support of a resilient, green and digital EU single market and created through Commission decision C(2022)6189 of 1 September 2022. Work officially began in January 2023.