25 Amendments of Lara COMI related to 2010/2051(INI)
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the Monti report on a new strategy for the single market affirms that standardisation is key for the governance of the single market and emphasises that it is necessary to review the European standards process, maintaining the benefits of the current system and striking the right balance between the European and national dimensions,
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D d (new)
Recital D d (new)
Dd. whereas a modern and flexible European standardisation system is a crucial component for an ambitious and renewed European industrial policy;
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas it is necessary to develop a strategic approach to European standardisation and review the current system in order for it to remain successful and respond to the needs of the forthcoming decade,
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Emphasises that the Commission's Asks the Commission to accompany the proposal for the review of the current legal framework on European standardisation must be accompanied bywith a strategy document establishing a comprehensive framework for action at European and national level, including concrete proposals for those improvements that cannot be implemented through the review of the legislation; stresses that such a strategy document should not be limited to the recommendations contained in the EXPRESS report;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Holds the view that the integration of the WTO principles in the legal framework should not increase the number of recognised European standardisation organisations (ESOs) beyond the three existing ones, namely CEN, CENELEC, and the European Telecom Standards Institute (ETSI),
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Considers that these principles could be complemented by additional attributes such as maintenance, availability, quality, neutrality and accountability; believes that all those principles need to be further detailed and defined, and a specific monitoring system must be introduced to ensure their implementation at national and European level in the development of standards in support of EU policies and legislation;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses, however, that these principles are not in themselves sufficient to ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises and societall stakeholders – in particular those representing health and safety, consumer and environmental interests – are adequately represented in the standardisation process; considers, therefore, that a vital element is the addition of the principle of "balanced representation", given that it is of the utmostit is importancet, whenever the public interest is concerned, to incorporatetake into account all stakeholder positions in a balanced manner, especially in the development of standards intended to support EU legislation and policies;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Stresses that SMEs, although they represent an essential part of the European market, they are not adequately involved in the standardisation system and cannot, therefore, exploit entirely the benefits derived from standardisation; believes that it is essential to improve their representation and participation in the system, especially in the technical committees at national level; asks the European Commission to identify, through its impact assessment in the context of the revision of the European Standardisation System, the best way to reach this aim, evaluating the necessary funding to help SMEs;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Maintains that it is of the utmost importance to draw a clear line between legislation and standardisation in order to avoid any misinterpretation with regard to the objectives of the law and the desired level of protection; stresses that the European legislator must be highly vigilant and precise when defining the essential requirements in regulation, while the Commission must clearly and accurately define the objectives of the standardisation work in the mandates; stresses that the role of standardisers should be limited to defining the technical means of reaching the goals set by the legislator, while as well as ensuring a high level of protection;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Reiterates that it is essential for European standards to be developed within a reasonable period of time, in particular in those areas where standards are needed quickly in order to meet the requirements of public policies and rapidly changing market conditions; invites, therefore, the European and national standards bodies to continue improving their efficiency and effectiveness, bearing in mind that the acceleration of the standardisation process must not take place to the detriment of the principles of openness, quality, transparency and consensus among all interested parties;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12b. Asks the Commission, for the sake of transparency, to make decisions on formal objections to standards public in a consolidated way, and make available an updated table of all actions in relation to formal objections; calls also on the Commission to present an annual report on the standardisation mandates and the progress on their fulfilment;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 d (new)
Paragraph 12 d (new)
12d. Is aware that the current system of EU funding in support of European standardisation often leads to frustration in terms of rule changes, the large cost of auditing and delays in the authorisation of payments; stresses that there is an urgent need to reduce these costs and the high administrative burden that at times outweigh the benefits of the provided financial support, while respecting EU financial rules; considers that the Commission and the ESOs could improve their cooperation in order to guarantee a stable and user-friendly framework for the EU financial contribution to European standardisation which will increase significantly the efficiency of the system;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Encourages European and national standardisation bodies, therefore, to promote and facilitate effective participation in the standardisation process by all interested parties, in particular representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and all stakeholders representing the public interest such as consumers (including people with disabilities and vulnerable consumers), environmentalists, workers and bodies representing other societal interests;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Holds the view that these European organisations must obtain a stronger role within the ESOs; recommends that, without prejudice to the national delegation principle, all such organisations should be given a vote in the ESO technical bodies, on condition that they are associate members or cooperating partners of the ESOs and have participated in the respective work item at technical level; considers also that such organisations should, under the same conditions, be given a symbolic vote in the formal adoption of standards, which would not necessarily be counted in the voting result but would serve as an indicator of the level of support for a given standard among all stakeholders;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Commends the initiative of CEN and CENELEC to introduce a peer assessment process in order to evaluate the correct application by the NSBs of the WTO principles (and additional attributes) and to encourage continuous improvement and exchange of good practice; stresses that this project should serve as an effective tool for the strengthening of the NSBs and the improved participation of all relevant stakeholders at national level; believes that this project should involve all NSBs and be underpinned by independent audits; invites CEN and CENELEC to prepare and make publicly available a report on the results of the peer assessment process;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 b (new)
Paragraph 22 b (new)
22b. Calls on NSBs to follow the ISO Code of Ethics in order to ensure that the impartiality of standards is not endangered from other activities such as certification or accreditation;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 c (new)
Paragraph 22 c (new)
22c. Calls on national standard bodies (NSBs) to follow the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) Code of Ethics in order to ensure that the impartiality of standards is not endangered from other activities, such as certification.
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Reiterates that, although small and medium-sized enterprises form the backbone of the European economy, their involvement in standardisation is not always commensurate with their economic importance; emphasises that standards should be designed and adapted to take account of the characteristics and environment of SMEs, in particular small, micro and craft enterprises; welcomes recent initiatives taken by the European and national standardisation bodies to implement the recommendations in the study on SME access to European standardisation, and believes that they must be considered as best practices; stresses that further measures should be taken to ensure that SMEs can participate fully in the development of standards and have adequate access to them;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Welcomes the ongoing initiative of the ESOs to draw up and publish on-line, without any access restriction, a summary of all their standards, and asks for the fast completion of this project; stresses, however, that this project should be also implemented at national level, in order to enable standards users to obtain information on the items covered by each standard in their own language via the web-site of NSBs;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 b (new)
Paragraph 25 b (new)
25b. Underlines the importance of providing standards into all EU official languages in order to ensure proper understanding by users; calls on the Commission to further support, and simplify the financial arrangements for, the translation of harmonised standards;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26a. Stresses the need to promote the inclusion of standardisation in academic curricula, education and lifelong learning programmes in order to raise awareness amongst current and prospective economic operators and policy makers about the importance and benefits of standards; encourages actions aimed to assess, quantify and communicate the economic and social benefits of standardisation;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 d (new)
Paragraph 26 d (new)
26d. Calls on Member States and the European Commission to promote education about the role of standards and the benefits of using them at all levels, in economic and technical schools for instance; invites NSBs to enhance their cooperation with trade associations in order to provide plausible information to SMEs on the benefits provided by standards;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 e (new)
Paragraph 26 e (new)
26e. Believes that the European programmes for innovation and research can provide an important contribution to the standardisation process by devoting a chapter to "research and standardisation"; considers that such a measure would contribute financially to the system, while at the same time increasing the knowledge of the operators involved;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Reaffirms that tackling climate change and other future global energy and environmental challenges implies developing and promoting clean technologies and green products; considers, therefore, that there is an urgent need to integrate environmental aspects into all relevant products and services, and that the European Standardisation System needs to develop an improved system to ensure such aspects are properly addressed when standards are developed; stresses the need to promote the active involvement in standardisation committees – at national and European level – of environmental organisations and public authorities responsible for environmental protection;
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)
Paragraph 29 a (new)
29a. Supports the secondment of two European standardisation experts to China and India with the aim to support the ESOs, promote European standards and provide feedback on the standardisation systems of these countries;