28 Amendments of Andreas SCHWAB related to 2022/2058(INI)
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the European standardisation system is based on an inclusive, consensus-based, market-driven approach, ensuring that the standards that are developed not only respond to industry needs but also support the interests of wider societyto address the needs of industry but at the same time can contribute to wider society interests and challenges;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas standards, both at international and European level, can bare important drivers for market development, innovation, competitiveness and technological change; whereas the Member States, European institutions and the European standardisation organisations (ESOs) cooperate with international standardisation bodies and have agreements in place to facilitate the use of international standards in the Union; whereas although European industry is an active participant in international standardisation work streams, the effective representation of smaller companies and other stakeholders in international forums is more challenging;
Amendment 24 #
2. Considers that the fundamental qualities of the standardisation system remain relevant and effective for the proper functioning of the internal market and the competitiveness of European industry; harmonised standards reduce market barriers; recalls that standards are voluntary, whereas harmonised standards for construction products have a mandatory nature in order to fulfill regulatory needs; 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 and supports the development 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;
Amendment 25 #
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 and supports the development 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;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Stresses, that consumer, health, safety, environmental and data protection should be pursued by standards but these cannot be seen as EU law, since legislation is determined by the legislator;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. NotWelcomes the intention to involve Parliament and the Council in an annual event to prepare priorities for standardisation activities; considers that the importance ofrecalls that standardisation ais a strategic initiative and an operational element offor the internal market necessitatesand considers that deeper and more regular scrutiny by the co- legislators than is possible at an annual eventis desirable;
Amendment 51 #
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 andtimely adoption of standards and legislative provisions with relevance to standardisation, as well as to the consistent application of the New Legislative Framework; considers that the person holding this oversight function should be an important interlocutor for Parliament, enabling the technical scrutiny of the Commission’s standardisation activities;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. BelieveRecommends that the Commission should establish a clear set of key performance indicators and guidelines on the aspects of standardisation within its remit;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Notes the risk of overlap between the High-Level Forum and the EU excellence hub, together with other expert groups, industry forums and policy-specific groupings, such as the AccessibleEU centre, which Parliament considers could assist the Commission on standardisation matters; encourages the Commission to avoid the duplication of work streams and to seek collaboration between forums where possible so as to make the best use of experts’ limited time, encourage participation and minimise administrative costs;
Amendment 67 #
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 standards is necessary for the proper functioning of the internal market and keeping pace with innovation and international competitiveness, in particular in the case of harmonised standards;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. NotWelcomes that the Commission wishes to accelerate the steps involved in developing standards; considers that the timely preparation of standards is necessary for the proper functioning of the internal market, in particular in the case of harmonised standards;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10 a. Considers that EU product legislation should focus on essential health and safety requirements through a technology-neutral approach, leaving the technical details to harmonised EU standards;
Amendment 81 #
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; encourages the Commission, in conjunction with improvements to its own internal processes, to continue working with the ESOs on ways of achieving timely delivery, includingwhich should entail an early exchange of information on the contents and the feasibility of standardization requests the Commission is planning and the consideration of the most suitable standardisation deliverable depending on the need;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Highlights in this context that the work program of the task force between the Commission, the European Free Trade Area and the ESOs titled “A Successful European Standardisation System – Timely European Standards for a Green and Digital Single Market” can increase the efficiency of the standardization process, as it helps address questions of understanding and feasibility at an early stage of the standardization process;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11 b. Believes that the Commission must ensure a smooth functioning of the Harmonized Standards Consultants (HASC) system to enable the timely delivery of harmonized standards and their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union, in particular to avoid a decoupling between harmonized standards and international standards due to delays caused by the HASC system; stresses that the Commission must ensure proper financial planning for HASC consultants and suggests to increase coordination between HASCs and the EU Excellence hub on standardization;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Recalls that in the past years, the practices in the European standardisation organisations as regards their internal governance and decision-making procedures have changed, with European standardisation organisations increasing their co-operation with international and European stakeholders; however, when European standardisation organisations execute standardisation requests to support Union legislation and policies, it is essential that their internal decisions take into account the interests, policy objectives, and values of the Union, as well as the public interests in general.
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Welcomes the focus on national- level involvement of wider stakeholders, including SMEs and consumer organization, in standardisation activities; notes that not all organisations listed in Annex III have national counterparts in theall Member States; considers that the Commission may direct funding or technical support to those organisations to ensure participation in national standardisation activities, 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;
Amendment 108 #
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 mechanisms concerned about a disconnect or contradiction of common or technical specifications from existing European or international standards which leads to increased productions costs and administrative burdens for companies operating in the Single Market, in particular for SMEs; considers, that common specifications should only be used in exceptional circumstances, clearly defined in legislation and only while relevant standards do not exist; expresses concern about technical specifications concerning, among other things, respect for fundamental rights, where recourse to implementing acts affects the co-legislators’ powers of scrutiny and the Commission has already issued a standardization request which has been unduly delayed or not been accepted by the responsible ESO;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Regrets the procedure for adoption of common specifications has not been agreed on a horizontal instruments; acknowledges the agreed procedure in sectorial legislation and considers it should be the standard text and urges the Commission to adhere to such text in upcoming proposals;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Believes that an evaluation of Regulation (EU) 1025/2012 should assess the possibility of incorporating provision for standard text on common or technical specifications such that upcoming proposals could coherently make reference to it;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Considers that divergent regulatory outcomes may also affect the standardisation process more generally, owing to differing terminology, the lack of standard clauses for standardisation requests and difficulties in ex ante oversight; underlines that this problem is even more significant where standards are relevant for more than one regulatory act; believes that a common approach or formalised agreement between the Commission and the co-legislators could be explored in order to streamline the preparation of standards and detailed conditions for technical specifications;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15 a. Considers that new rules should strengthen competition, reduce production and sales costs, and benefit of the entire economy and consumers. They should maintain and improve quality, provide information, and ensure interoperability and compatibility, thereby increasing safety and consumer value.
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Stresses the value of commercialisation for research activities, including early consideration of the suitability for standardisation of projects launched under the Union’s research funding programmes; welcomes the creation of the ‘standardisation booster’, as a test bed for standards’ suitability; believes that such efforts should aim at helping researchers participate in the development of European Norms within the ESOs;
Amendment 149 #
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; believes that such awareness-raising and training programmes must be developed in cooperation with the industry to ensure that they are fit-for-purpose and reflect the market-driven approach to standardisation;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19 a. Supports funding of European standardization organizations for carrying out preliminary or ancillary activities in relation to European standardization which also include cooperation activities, including international ones, research and conformity assessment activities and measures aimed at ensuring that the processing and revision times for European standards or European standardization deliverables are reduced without prejudice to the founding principles, in particular the principles of openness, quality, transparency and consensus among all stakeholders;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Reiterates its call for greater collaboration among EU institutions, the Joint Research Center (JRC), national governments and ESOs in order to develop training guidelines for policymakers and to create a standardisation culture;