Standards are at the core of the EU Single Market, and have played a major role in its creation and in supporting European competitiveness and, at the same time, boosting consumer confidence. Moreover, standards are of key importance for the functioning of all industrial sectors, and even more so when looking at new technology-related fields, such as the data economy.
In a connected world, setting international standards provides a powerful advantage for companies, and therefore, the EU must find a way to remain one of the major players setting the rules for global trade in the field of standardisation.
The EU’s innovation, green and digital ambitions and the implications of its values have led to the need for an increasingly strategic approach to standardisation both on the European level and worldwide. Through its global standard-setting activities, the EU has exported best practices and increased cooperation in value chains around the world. By setting global standards, it also exports its values and provides EU companies with an important first-mover advantage.
The EU aims to become a global standard-setter in a world where ICT standardisation is likely to become the next geopolitical battleground, driven not only by economic but also by sovereignty concerns.
Against this background, I-Com, on behalf of the Deep-In Research network, organised on 21 September a policy discussion to contribute to the debate on the new EU approach to standardisation flowing on from the Commission’s Communication of February 2022. The event aimed to shed light on the geopolitical implications of the EU standardisation policy, both within the Single Market and globally, and how standards affect innovation and the EU’s competitiveness.
Know more on I-Com Youtube channel and watch the stream of the event.
