CEN, CENELEC and BSI to maintain European standards post-Brexit
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The British Standards Institution will remain a member of European standards bodies CEN and CENELEC.
BSI says the decisions will enable UK industry and other stakeholders to continue their work shaping and maintaining best practice standards used across Europe and internationally.
The organisation also said the decisions will allow UK experts to continue as chairs, convenors, committee members and policy experts to work on maintaining and developing the 20,000 European standards that are managed by CEN and CENELEC.
Government support for BSI’s position was confirmed by the Secretary of State for Business
CEN and CENELEC collectively manage 20,000 European standards and its members are involved in the international standards system through the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). BSI said influencing international standards is crucial in ensuring the future global competitiveness of the UK.
Government support for BSI’s position was confirmed by the Secretary of State for Business, Greg Clark in June when he backed moves to keep the UK a full member of European standard setting bodies.
The July 2018 Brexit white paper also stated the UK needs to ensure consistency between UK and EU standards, with input from businesses and the European Standards Organisations (ESOs). This would ensure consumers do not face multiple standards for the same products. The white paper also said this would enable the UK to continue to play a leading role in the ESOs, and with the EU on a global stage, for example in the ISO.
