16 Amendments of Maria GRAPINI related to 2022/2058(INI)
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the functioning of the internal market is greatly facilitated by the market’s adoption and use of standards; whereas the adoption of European standards simplifies compliance for market participants and national authorities, replacing as many as 34 national standards with one European standard; European standards play a very important role in the Single Market for goods through the use of harmonised standards in the presumption of conformity of products to be made available on the market with the essential requirements relating to those products laid down in the relevant Union harmonisation legislation.
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the adoption of the standardisation strategy, which sets out five main areas for action for the Commission; considers that the classification of priority areas for action closely aligns with the weaknesses of the current system identified during the stakeholder consultation; stresses, however, the insufficient focus of the Strategy on the uptake and implementation of standards, especially among SMEs; notes also the adoption of, and progress on, the 2022 annual work programme on standardisation and looks forward to the 2023 and 2024 draft annual work programmes;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Considers that the fundamental qualities of the standardisation system remain relevant and effective for the proper functioning of the internal market; recalls that standards are a voluntary, market- driven tool providing technical requirements and guidance, the use of which facilitates the compliance of goods and services with European legislation, ensures fair competition in the market and supports the developmentimplementation of European policies in an accountable, transparent and inclusive way; stresses, however, that standards cannot be seen as EU law, since legislation and policies regarding the level of consumer, health, safety, environmental and data protection, and the level of social inclusion, are determined by the legislator, ensuring that the needs and specificities of all relevant stakeholders, including SMEs and societal actors, are taken into account; stresses that according to Regulation 1025/2012, harmonised standards have the legal effect of providing presumption of conformity to legislation, but that the level of consumer, health, safety, environmental and data protection, and the level of social inclusion, are determined by the legislator; stresses, however, that standards cannot be used to address socio-economic issues, and in particular working conditions, health, safety at work, data protection, and workers’ protection and trade unions rights, as well as all issues falling under the competence of the legislator and/or social partners;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Supports the launch of the High- Level Forum for Standardisation and the desire to broaden the range of voices heard when identifying standardisation needs, planning future activities and coordinating approaches in standardisation bodies; underlines that this expert group should include a diverse range of stakeholders, including SMEs and consumers, without losing sight of the bottom-up, market- driven nature of standardisation activities;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the creation of an EU excellence hub on standards and the appointment of a chief standardisation officer (CSO) in the Commission; believes that this position and the hub, as a resource, should lead to greater consistency across the Commission in terms of standardisation requests and the preparation and adoption of standards and legislative provisions with relevance to standardisation; considers that the person holding this oversight function should be an important interlocutor for Parliament to inform the Parliament on the standardisation activities of the Commission, enabling the technical scrutiny of the Commission’s standardisation activities;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Believes that the Commission should establish a clear set of key performance indicators on the aspects of standardisation within its remit, especially for standards linked to the objectives of the European Green Deal and the twin transitions;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Notes that the Commission wishes to accelerate the steps involved in developing standards; considers that the timely preparation of standarrobust standards meeting market and societal needs is necessary for the proper functioning of the internal market, in particular in the case of harmonised standards, but without affecting the quality of consultations with stakeholders; however, consensus building, inclusiveness and the proper verification that standards satisfy EU legal requirements, in particular in the case of harmonised standards, should prevail over speed;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Stresses that there may be inherent limits to speeding up the standardisation process, as the preparation of standards, citation of harmonised standards and industry implementation of those standards all add time before market adoption; recognises that it may be easier to accelerate administrative tasks, such as citation in the Official Journal, but that the unduly rushed preparation or deployment of standards creates challenges for all stakeholders, including national authorities, as each enforced reduction in time risks the chance to achieve the broad and robust consensus of all interested parties; encourages the Commission, in conjunction with improvements to its own internal processes, to continue working with the ESOs on ways of achieving timely delivery, including consideration of the most suitable standardisation deliverable depending on the need;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Considers that an evaluation of Regulation (EU) 1025/2012 may identify areas where reform is needed beyond the targeted amendment already introduced by the Commission; considers that the role, participation and input of relevant stakeholders, including those representing, inter alia, SMEs, trade unions and environmental, social and consumer interests, should be evaluated and strengthened where such reforms may be beneficial and complementary to work envisaged by the ESOs following the Commission’s call for them to present proposals to reform their own internal governance; a reform should ensure that inclusiveness and effective participation of societal stakeholders is implemented in a harmonised manner beyond the simple obligation of efforts, as defined in Articles 5 and 16 of the Regulation, and also takes account of the actual results of the consensus-building process;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Acknowledges that only a limited number of civil society organisations participate in the European and national standardisation work. Believes that, in view of increasing the participation of civil society and broadening the scope of Annex III of Regulation 1025/2012, the Commission should carry out a mapping of civil society organisations which have an interest in contributing to the standardisation work at European level;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12 b. Considers that civil society participation in standardisation today remains insufficient because of limited funding and resources; believes that the Commission should increase its financial support and ensure that funding programmes are available that can provide substantial, long-term and stable financial support for the involvement of consumer groups into the standardisation system;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Welcomes the focus on national- level involvement of wider stakeholders in standardisation activities; notes that not all organisations listed in Annex III have national counterparts in the Member States; considers that the Commission may directshould increase funding or technical support to those organisations, in order to ensure participation in national standardisation activitiesa collective national stakeholder voice is heard at European level, including not only technical work on standards, but also the preparation of positions vis-à-vis standardisation requests at the European and international levels, thereby reinforcing the inclusivity of the process as a whole; stresses the importance to ensure that additional financial support for the participation of SMEs and SME associations is provided by Member States at the national level;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Recognises the need for a consistent approach towards technical or common specifications, in particular as different legislative processes may give rise to divergent provisions; considers, therefore, that this mechanism should only be used in exceptional circumstances and only while relevant standards do not exist and by ensuring the involvement of all relevant stakeholders; expresses concern about technical specifications concerning, among other things, respect for fundamental rights of consumers, where recourse to implementing acts affects the co-legislators’ powers of scrutiny;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Emphasises that prioritising standardisation matters in cooperation with third countries in bi-, multi- and pluri- lateral settings is also important to ensure that like-minded, inclusive approaches towards standardisation can prevail at international level; encourages, in this regard, the Commission and the CSO to develop key performance indicators, which cover inclusiveness, to monitor commitments on standardisation between the Union and third countries in EU trade agreements, which would lead to an improvement of competition in the internal market and an increase of consumer protection;
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17 a. Highlights that the effective participation of European SMEs and societal stakeholders in international standardisation continues to be a major challenge; calls for the European Commission and the ESOs to engage with international counterparts and like- minded trade partners to ensure greater inclusiveness of the international standardisation system and stronger representation of all stakeholders;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Supports the development of awareness-raising and training programmes aimed at developing pathways towards standardisation activities for academics, future industry professionals and policymakers and civil society representatives; calls for training and mentorship programmes to be launched to promote awareness of standards and the benefits of standardisation, particularly aimed at SMEs and other underrepresented stakeholders in standardisation;