EU Standardisation Regulation Proposal: Faster Standards

European Union: Commission Proposes New EU Standardisation Regulation to Cut Harmonised Standards Development from Six to Four Years

On 6 October 2026, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a new EU Standardisation Regulation (COM(2026) 780, interinstitutional procedure 2026/0307(COD)), which would repeal and replace Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 the legal backbone of the European standardisation system for more than a decade. The proposal seeks to make the development of harmonised standards faster, more inclusive and more strategically aligned with EU priorities, while preserving the public-private partnership between the Commission and the European Standardisation Organisations (ESOs): CEN, CENELEC and ETSI.

The proposal will now be examined by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union under the ordinary legislative procedure before it can be adopted, published in the Official Journal and enter into force.

Background: Why the EU Standardisation Regulation Is Being Revised

Harmonised standards translate the essential requirements of EU legislation such as the Radio Equipment Directive, the Low Voltage Directive, the EMC Directive, the Machinery Regulation or the Cyber Resilience Act into concrete technical specifications. Once their references are published in the Official Journal of the EU, products manufactured in line with them benefit from a presumption of conformity with the corresponding legal requirements, providing the most straightforward route to CE marking.

According to the Commission, the current system has struggled to keep pace with technological change. Developing a standard requested by the Commission currently takes an average of six years, and the EU has increasingly found itself without harmonised standards in strategic areas such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and batteries. In addition, rulings by the Court of Justice of the EU have established that harmonised standards form part of EU law and must therefore be made available free of charge a principle that the current Regulation does not address.

The proposal responds to four core problems identified in the Commission's impact assessment: slow delivery of standards, unbalanced stakeholder participation, the financing model of standardisation bodies, and the EU's declining influence in international standardisation.

Key Changes Under the Proposed EU Standardisation Regulation

1. Faster development of harmonised standards

The Commission estimates that the combined measures would reduce the average development time of a standard from six to four years a cut of roughly one third. The main tools include:

• Binding deadlines at each stage of the process. Among them, the Commission would adopt a standardisation request within 12 months of the ESOs' reply and assess a delivered standard within six months.

• Faster uptake of existing high-quality specifications, allowing greater use of external technical specifications under defined conditions and safeguards.

• Temporary presumption of conformity for interim deliverables, so that certain emerging technical documents can support compliance while full standards are still being finalised.

• Clearer rules on common specifications, confirmed as a targeted fallback when harmonised standards are unavailable or inadequate.

• Better planning and accountability, through key performance indicators, annual work programmes and real-time monitoring via a digital platform.

  
  

2. New role for designated standards development organisations

CEN, CENELEC and ETSI remain at the centre of the system. However, after consulting the ESOs and under strict safeguards with Member States' approval the Commission could address standardisation requests to other designated standardisation organisations where urgent or highly specialised expertise is required or where the ESOs cannot deliver.

3. Free access to harmonised standards

Following the Court of Justice case law, harmonised standards and standards referenced in EU law would be made freely accessible through dedicated repositories. This covers around 3,650 of the roughly 27,000 standards in the ESOs' catalogues. ETSI standards which include most telecom and radio standards are already available free of charge.

4. Broader and more balanced participation

European and national standardisation bodies would face stronger obligations to ensure the participation of SMEs, civil society, academia and public authorities, together with new transparency and accountability requirements. National standardisation bodies would also be required to reduce the cost of participation for small and medium-sized companies.

5. Stronger EU role in international standardisation

The proposal establishes an Expert Centre on European Standardisation to provide strategic steering and cross-policy coordination, and calls for stronger Union coordination within international bodies such as ISO, IEC and ITU.

Expected economic impact

The Commission estimates that faster standards would save businesses around EUR 295 million per year in compliance costs, with a further EUR 30 million per year in savings from free access to harmonised standards.

What This Means for Manufacturers

For manufacturers placing products on the EU market including radio, telecom, ICT and electrical equipment the proposed EU Standardisation Regulation does not change any product requirements today. Existing harmonised standards, conformity assessment procedures and CE marking obligations remain fully applicable. The impact is medium to long-term and largely positive:

• Shorter waiting times for harmonised standards. Gaps in harmonised standards a recurring challenge under the RED delegated act on cybersecurity, the Cyber Resilience Act and the AI Act could be bridged earlier through interim deliverables with temporary presumption of conformity.

• Lower reliance on notified bodies. Where no harmonised standard exists, manufacturers often need a notified body for conformity assessment. Faster delivery of standards could reduce that dependency and related costs and lead times.

• Free access to the standards that matter. Compliance teams would no longer need to purchase harmonised standards from national standardisation bodies. For radio and telecom products, the practical difference is smaller because ETSI standards are already free, but CEN/CENELEC standards (e.g. safety, EMC) would also become freely available.

• More frequent changes to the standards landscape. Faster cycles, new designated standards bodies and greater use of common specifications mean manufacturers will need closer monitoring of Official Journal citations and transition periods.

• Greater opportunity to influence standards. SMEs and other stakeholders would gain better access to technical committees, making early engagement more realistic for smaller manufacturers.

  
  

Certification Impact Summary

Area	Current framework (Reg. 1025/2012)	Proposed EU Standardisation Regulation	Impact on certification
Development time	~6 years on average	Target ~4 years, with binding deadlines	Earlier availability of harmonised standards for new legislation
Who develops requested standards	CEN, CENELEC, ETSI only	ESOs plus designated standardisation organisations (with safeguards)	Possible new sources of harmonised specifications in niche/urgent areas
Presumption of conformity	Only once a harmonised standard is cited in the OJEU	Temporary presumption possible for certain interim deliverables	Faster self-declaration route; less need for notified body involvement during gaps
Common specifications	Defined sector by sector	Clarified as a horizontal fallback	More predictable alternative compliance route when standards are missing
Access to standards	Mostly paid (ETSI free)	Harmonised standards and standards referenced in EU law free via repositories	Lower compliance cost, especially for CEN/CENELEC standards
Stakeholder participation	Limited SME/civil society participation	Stronger obligations and reduced participation costs for SMEs	Greater ability to shape future test requirements
Product requirements today	—	No change until adoption and application	Current CE marking and conformity procedures remain valid

Timeline and Required Actions

Date / stage	Milestone	Required action for manufacturers
6 October 2026	Commission adopts proposal COM(2026) 780	Review the proposal and Q&A; brief compliance and product teams
Until 8 December 2026 (as reported)	Feedback period on the "Have Your Say" portal	Submit feedback directly or via industry associations, especially on interim deliverables and designated bodies
2027 onwards (indicative)	Examination by European Parliament and Council; trilogue negotiations	Monitor amendments, particularly on transition periods and the status of interim deliverables
After formal adoption	Publication in the Official Journal and entry into force	Confirm the application date and transitional provisions set in the final text
After the transition period	Application of the new Regulation	Update standards monitoring processes; use free repositories; reassess conformity routes for products lacking harmonised standards
Ongoing	Existing harmonised standards and CE marking rules continue to apply	Continue certifying under current harmonised standards, common specifications or notified body procedures

Conclusion

The proposed EU Standardisation Regulation represents a structural reform of how harmonised standards are requested, developed and accessed in the European Union. While it does not alter current compliance obligations, it is set to reshape the conformity assessment landscape over the coming years with faster standards, new compliance routes during standardisation gaps, and free access to the standards that underpin CE marking. Manufacturers should follow the legislative process closely and prepare their compliance strategies for a faster-moving European standards environment.