Services Standards: Defining the Core Consumer Elements ... - ANEC

Hans-W. Micklitz
market transparency on products and prices via voluntary
standardisation in the sector of services.
• In October 2004 the Commission Communication on the role of
European Standardisation in the framework of European policies and
legislation emphasises the potential of standardisation for the Internal
Market in services, which recognises that the availability of voluntary
standards in the area of services lags considerably behind the economic
importance and potential of this area. European standards are
acknowledged as one of the measures able to enhance intra-EU trade on
services and to foster competitiveness 257 .
• In February 2005 DG ENTR receives CEN’s final report to Mandate
M/340 setting out its strategy on services 258 . This paper starts with a
valuable description and analysis of the already existing activities in CEN
itself and in the Member States standardisation organisations on
services. Whenever national bodies take the lead the question emerges
whether a European initiative is better suited. CEN argues in favour of a
more focused approach in already existing fields (tourism (including on
request of ANEC safety of services in winter sports), cleaning, logistic,
healthcare, consultancy-management-marketing), and proposes after
consultation of its member organisations to set up new working groups
on the following subjects: contact centres, business support services to
SMEs, real estate agents – engineering services, film cataloguing –
provided the European Commission makes the necessary resources
available. This required also organisational steps. A specific working
group on “service standardisation” was established, CEN Technical
Board Working Group 163. As will be seen, CEN’s report seems to have
heavily affected the policy of the European Commission.
• In February 2005 DG ENTR issues standardisation mandate M/370 to
CEN and CENELEC for a normative document on the quality of business
support services. In this respect the Commission followed one of CEN’s
proposals.
• In July 2005 DGs ENTR and MARKT requested a second period of
programming in support of CEN’S strategy through mandate M/371.
Through this mandate the European Commission asked CEN to follow
on from its proposed strategy and submit projects, whether sectoral or
257 COM (2004) 674 final, 18.10.2004.
258 http://www.cenorm.be/cenorm/businessdomains/businessdomains/services/freport.pdf.
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