Reforming the ICT Standardisation Policy in Europe

Jean Laurens1

The European Standardisation Reform

The current reform proposal is the result of 5 years of work of the ICT Steering Committee. DIGITALEUROPE fully supports it.

No change for the regulatory domain: The New Approach relying on the Harmonized Standards developed by the 3 ESOs remains

CEN/CENELEC: safety, EMC, environment

ETSI: Radio & Telecom Devices

The focus is on the competitive domain: Recognition of the specific and global nature of ICT Standardisation

Ability to reference Fora/Consortia specifications in policies and public procurement

Identification of existing specifications that comply with the criteria

The direct referencing of fora/consortia specifications

ICT tools and products are critical to new developments and innovationThe ESOs - and in particular ETSI - play an important role, however

A large amount of important technologies is standardised by Fora/Consortia, e.g. internet (IETF), wireless access (IEEE), service and application enabling (OASIS, W3C, OMA)

It is of paramount importance to include these technologies in EU policies to increase EU competitiveness and economic growth

Effective innovation policy requires the inclusion of ICT specifications from Fora/ConsortiaHarmonisation in Europe requires a common base for recognising Fora/Consortia specifcationsSeveral national governments have developed guidance documents for direct referencing of Fora/Consortia specifications

Interoperability between ICT products is crucial to build effective new services in a truly digital society

ICT Standards are indispensable to achieve this interoperability and will increase freedom of choice for customers as well as competition

The ICT Industry’s Opinion

The ability to directly reference Fora/Consortia specifications in EU policies is absolutely needed

Articles 9 and 10 dealing with ICT are critical and should stay included to cover both EU Policies and Public Procurement

The assessment criteria defined in Annex II are clear and based on WTO principles

The Multi-Stakeholders Platform is the right organization to take care of these activities

DIGITALEUROPE welcomes the proposed Regulation on EU Standardisation - We are committed to make it a success!Specific comments (e.g. on implementation) are provided in our position paper

Thanks for supporting this important European initiative for the benefit our

Industry and our Growth.