Today, 10 June 2020, is an important day for the CEN and CENELEC Community: on this date in 1960, representatives from ISO and IEC members in the European Economic Community (EEC) and EFTA countries agreed to the creation of two European Standardization Organisations, CEN and CENEL – which then became CENELEC. In a period that saw the founding steps of European integration, this agreement of principle set the basis for the creation of a common European Standardization System.

In the decades since then, the European Standardization System has evolved, providing an invaluable contribution to the economic and social well-being of Europe and to the well-functioning of the Single Market. CEN and CENELEC’s cooperation has been a staple of this evolution, providing an effective platform for European standardization: the CEN and CENELEC Management Centre (CCMC), their common Secretariat in Brussels, stands today as a witness to their joint effort.

CEN and CENELEC therefore celebrate today 60 years of collaboration on European standardization. It is an opportunity for us to look back at the successes achieved, and to reflect on the road that is still ahead.

This anniversary is a celebration for the whole CEN and CENELEC community: CEN and CENELEC’s national members, affiliates and companion standardization bodies; stakeholders, partners and liaison organizations; 90.000 experts active in technical committees; and, last but not least, the staff of the CEN and CENELEC Management Centre, who make this everyday collaboration possible. After all, European standardization is a collective effort: the uniqueness of the European Standardization System is its openness and inclusivity.
Far from being a removed practice, taking place behind closed doors, European standardization benefits from a fundamental human character: all sectors of society and industry can (and do) participate in our European standardization work.

As part of the celebrations, CEN and CENELEC are launching the project ‘Faces of standardization’: starting today, we will publish a series of monthly interviews with different individuals who are actively contributing to European standardization. Our aim is to celebrate the many experts who make European standardization possible and showcase the human aspect of standardization.

The first video interview, with Christian Wetterberg, Chairman of CEN/TC 52 ‘Toy Safety’ and Senior Director, Global Head of Product Safety & Compliance, LEGO Group, is available here.

For more information, please contact Giovanni COLLOT.