PURPOSE: to provide a consolidated legal basis for the financing of European standardisation.
LEGISLATIVE ACT: Decision 1673/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the financing of European standardisation.
CONTENT: the Council adopted at first reading a Decision on the financing of European standardisation. This decision establishes the rules concerning the Community's contribution to the financing of European standardisation. European standardisation is an essential tool for supporting Community legislation and policies. It is necessary for the Community to contribute to the financing of European standardisation in view of the latter's useful role in supporting its legislation and policies. On the one hand, European standardisation contributes to the functioning and strengthening of the internal market, thanks especially to the New Approach directives in the fields of health, safety and environmental and consumer protection, and to ensuring interoperability in fields such as transport. Community financing may be granted to the recognised European standardisation bodies listed in Annex I to Directive 98/34/EC.
The Community may finance the following European standardisation activities:
a) the production and revision of European standards or any other standardisation product which is necessary and suitable for the implementation of Community policies and legislation;
b) the performance of preliminary or ancillary work in connection with European standardisation, such as studies, programmes, evaluations, comparative analyses, research work, laboratory work, inter-laboratory tests and conformity evaluation work;
c) the activities of the central secretariats of the European standardisation bodies, such as policy development, the coordination of standardisation activities, the processing of technical work and the provision of information to interested parties;
d) the verification of the quality, and conformity to the corresponding Community policies and legislation, of European standards or any other standardisation product;
e) the translation, where required, of European standards or any other European standardisation product used in support of Community policies and legislation into official Community languages other than the working languages of the European standardisation bodies; the drawing up of documents to explain, interpret and simplify standards, as well as the drawing up of user guides and best practice documents;
f) activities seeking to carry out programmes of technical assistance, cooperation with third countries and the promotion and enhancement of the European standardisation system and of European standards among interested parties in the Community and at international level.
ENTRY INTO FORCE: 05/12/2006.