Friday, 13 March 2026, 10:30-11:30 (CET), Online
ANEC invites you to attend its public webinar to celebrate together World Consumer Rights Day in 2026.
In line with Consumer International's theme for this year, the webinar focuses on consumer product safety in the European Union. It explores how to ensure that consumers can purchase only safe products and examines how the future European Product Act, including revisions to the Market Surveillance Regulation and the New Legislative Framework (NLF), strengthens consumer protection.
The webinar also highlights the importance of strong product safety standards and effective enforcement, particularly under the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR), and showcases ANEC’s success stories in improving the safety of toys, child-care articles, and household appliances.
In addition, it addresses how to protect consumers when purchasing products from outside the EU, with particular attention to the role of customs authorities. For more details see the latest checklist published by BEUC here.
ANEC, together with its speakers will conclude by outlining key takeaways and next steps for advancing consumer safety.
- Chiara Giovannini, Deputy-Director and Senior Manager for Policy & Innovation, ANEC
- Tania Vandeberghe, Senior Manager Child Safety & Domestic Appliances, ANEC
- Mykyta Sobko, International Affairs Policy Officer, BEUC
Registrations open via this link.
Tuesday, 3 February 2026, 15:00-16:00 (CET), Online
In November, the European Commission published a proposal for a Digital Omnibus on AI Regulation with amendments aiming to support competitiveness. Regardless of potential delays, Member States, providers and deployers of AI should start preparing for the Act’s high-risk requirements to enter into force.
Fundamental rights protection is enabled through several AI Act provisions such as impact assessments and transparency and information on the AI systems.
In December 2025, the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) issued the report ‘Assessing High-risk Artificial Intelligence: Fundamental Rights Risks’ to provide guidance and opinions on the impact of AI on Fundamental Rights and show that a fundamental rights approach to AI is not only feasible but directly supports the trust needed for innovation and competitiveness. The report is based on interviews with providers and deployers of AI systems in the areas of education, employment, migration, law enforcement and public (social) benefits, alongside interviews with experts in these fields.
This webinar will present the key findings of the report and explore how high-risk AI systems can affect fundamental rights in practice. It will also provide insights into how the report can support policymakers, standardisation experts, consumer and civil society organisations in identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks linked to AI systems.
ANEC, thanks to the support of the EAIS Fund and with the special participation of the European Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) will address and clarify these concepts together with to our speakers:
- Nienke van der Have, Seconded National Expert - Justice, Digital and Migration Unit (FRA)
- Chiara Giovannini, Deputy-Director of ANEC and Senior Manager for Policy & Innovation.
For more details you can download the webinar's PPT here.
Thursday, 4 December 2025, 15:00-16:00 (CET), online
ANEC invites you to a new public webinar: Consumer vulnerabilities and AI Act Standards - Is AI driving better products and services, or creating new risks that could harm consumers?
The webinar, targeted at consumer and civil society, will explore how AI is reshaping the relationship between consumers and the organisations that serve them.
Together with our speaker Malcolm Fisk, Professor of Ageing and the Lifecourse at University of Central Lancashire and ANEC expert in CEN-CENELEC-JTC21 (WG1), we will examine how AI may affect:
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Consumer choices, rights, and freedoms
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The factors that increase or reduce vulnerability
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The degree of control and transparency consumers can expect
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Whether businesses may exploit these vulnerabilities or protect against them
The session outlines what the AI Act requires from organisations, including their legal duties toward vulnerable consumers and the broader expectations of ethical and responsible practice.
Finally, we will exchange on how far the AI Act can go in addressing emerging risks, and what its upcoming AI standards may mean for the everyday lives of consumers who are most at risk.
Slides available for download here.
Thursday, October 9, 2025, 13:30-14:30 (CET), online
Join us in celebrating World Standards Day with a webinar, co-hosted by ANEC, ECOS and CEN and CENELEC.
The webinar is titled 'The Importance of an Inclusive Standardization System' and will take place on 9 October 2025 (13:30-14:30).
This year’s World Standards Day theme, Sustainable Development Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals, highlights the power of collaboration in standardisation. The webinar will explore insights into inclusive standardisation, give an overview of stakeholder participation in European standardisation, provide real-world case studies showcasing the contributions of consumer and environmental organisations and practical guidance to help you get involved.
Participation is free of charge, but registration is mandatory.
In case of questions related to the logistics of this webinar, please don’t hesitate to contact CEN/CENELEC via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
We look forward to having you join us!
After the webinar, the presentations and the recording have been made available on the CEN-CENELEC website: Webinar 'The Importance of an Inclusive Standardization System'" - CEN-CENELEC.
Friday, 3 October 2025, 11:00-13:00 (CEST), online
ANEC invites you to a new public webinar: Fundamental Rights and AI Standards - How can we have our rights respected when facing new AI products and services?
The webinar, targeted at consumers and civil society, will present the state of play of the AI Act standards and then provide participants with a hands-on Fundamental Rights tool they can use to assess any AI standard, during its development or after publication. The webinar will also have a case study on AI in financial services.
ANEC, thanks to the support of the EAIS Fund, will address practically how to make Fundamental Rights respected in the upcoming AI standards. We thank our main speakers who are making this possible.
- Patricia Shaw, International AI standards and governance expert, Beyond Reach Consulting Limited
- Chiara Giovannini, Deputy-Director of ANEC and Senior Manager for Policy & Innovation
- Helen Tueni, ANEC Representative in JTC21 on AI Risk Management, Quality Management Systems and Cybersecurity
- Brian Tranter, ANEC Representative in JTC21on AI Trustworthiness
Presentation available for download here.
Fundamental Rights checklist available here.
