Standards

EBSA welcomes the Commissions communication “Standards for the 21st Century” and especially the accompanying working document on services standards.

Services account for 70% of the GDP in the EU but only for 2% of the European standards. A further development of service standards could reduce barriers in the internal market for services, and contribute to further trade in service across borders in the EU, as well as giving public authorities and other clients a tool to evaluate quality of services, rather than solely relying on price comparisons.

Several of EBSA’s members participated in the High Level Group on Business Services and are pleased to see the Commission following up on the recommendations made by the Group on amongst other things service standards.

Where service standards have already been developed they have had broad uptake and businesses see them as a reliable way to communicate service quality and improvements to consumers both in their home country and in other member states.

EBSA is an active member of the Joint Initiative on Standardization and underlines the importance of involving stakeholders in the standard setting process, in order to insure that standards are smart and flexible enough to foster innovation and competition rather than hampering it. EBSA is furthermore actively engaged in supporting the realisation of CEN’s Strategy for Service Standards.

Please read our position on service standards here: EBSA Position on Service standards