ICT standards and specifications ensure that products can connect and interoperate with each other, boosting innovation, and keeping ICT markets open and competitive.
Standardisation is the process by which specifications are set.
A specification is a document that outlines the agreed properties for a particular product, service, or procedure. In ICT, specifications are primarily used to maximise interoperability – the ability for systems to work together. This is essential to ensure that markets remain open. It gives users the widest possible choice of services and manufacturers the benefit of economies of scale.
In the context of European policy on 'Digitising European Industry', the Commission adopted the 2016 Communication on ‘ICT Standardisation Priorities for the Digital Single Market' (PDF). The Communication presents a 2-strand plan to prioritise and deliver an efficient and sustainable ICT standard-setting system. This standardisation will to help address the challenges related to the digital transformation of the economy and society.
The 2022 EU's standardisation strategy outlines an EU approach to standards addressing the challenges posed by the digitisation of the economy. The goal is to strengthen the EU's global competitiveness and to enable a resilient, green and digital economy. Simultaneously, it explores how technologies such as internet, artificial intelligence and others can incorporate the core EU democratic values data protection rules, and cybersecurity. The strategy seeks to:
- enhance the European leadership in global ICT standards;
- strengthen the link between standardisation and research & innovation across the European Research Area
- educate the next generation of European standardisation experts.
Why is interoperability so important in ICT?
In modern ICT systems the value of a device or service relies on the ability to communicate with other devices. This is known as the network effect. It is important in almost all areas of ICT. Specifications ensure that products made by different manufacturers are able to interoperate, and that users are offered the chance to pick and mix between different suppliers, products or services.
What is the EU's role in standardisation?
The EU supports an effective and coherent standardisation framework system, which ensures that high quality standards are developed in a timely manner in support of EU policy priorities. The Commission issues standardisation requests and supports financially supports the work of European Standardisation Organisations: namely the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) and European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC). However, the Commission does not interfere with the standardisation setting conducted by industry or National Standardisation Organisations.
EU-funded research and innovation projects make their results available as an input to the standardisation work of several standards-setting organisations. The EU Rolling Plan for ICT Standardisation provides an overview of the ICT standardisation activities to be undertaken in support of EU policies.
As part of the ICT standardisation policy, the European Multi-Stakeholders Platform (MSP) on ICT standardisation was setup in 2011. The MSP consists of European and International standardisation experts and other key stakeholders across the ICT standardisation system. It has an advisory role, providing guidance on ICT standardisation policy and EU legislation and policies (including priority-setting). MSP also engages in the identification of ICT technical specifications for public procurement, developed by global ICT forums and consortia, and encourages better collaboration among standardisation actors.
A Communication on the guidelines for avoiding technology lock-in by using open standards in public procurement was published in 2013.
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The Commission has developed a flexible approach to standardisation when identifying new ICT technical specifications.
The Rolling Plan for ICT Standardisation outlines activities that connect EU policies to standardisation efforts in more than 30 technological domains.
An advisory expert group on all matters related to European ICT standardisation.
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