CAN YOU HELP US?POSTAL SERVICESWe are seeking a Postal Services expert to: * provide technical expertise and represent the collective European consumer interest in CEN/TC 331 standardisation work on ‘Customers, Products and Services’. * help influence EU policy discussions on the Postal Services Directive. If you believe you could contribute to our work, please send a CV and letter of motivation (in English) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. as soon as possible. For more information please click here
We offer a daily allowance for participation in meetings, as well as reimbursement of real costs where face-to-face participation is required (subject to the ANEC Guide on Reimbursement of Travel Expenses). For further details, please contact the ANEC Secretariat at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. as soon as possible. |
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EP IMCO report on Standardisation Strategy
ANEC has commented on the draft Report on a Standardisation Strategy for the Single Market (2022/2058(INI)) from the EP Committee on Internal Market & Consumer Protection (IMCO). The Rapporteur is MEP Adam Bielan.
We believe it important the Report reflects the role of Harmonised Standards, a vital building block in the construction of the Single Market for goods which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. ANEC also advocates timely standardisation over speedy standardisation. The core values of a European Standard (EN) should not be risked to reduce development times even further. This is essential when the objective of an EN is to ensure the safety of a product or service, especially the safety of consumers.
We also see a potential paradox arising from the European Commission’s (EC) wish for the EU to underline its commitment to international (ISO/IEC) standardisation, while ensuring (and reinforcing) European strategic autonomy. Hence we think it important to identify when and why a future EN should be developed at international level. Furthermore, ANEC considers that the requirements of Regulation (EU) 1025/2012 on inclusiveness should be respected in EC trade discussions and negotiations.
AUWP 2023 published
The 2023 edition of the Annual Union Work Programme (AUWP) for European standardisation has been published. We are pleased to see a range of consumer priorities included. These will help inform the ANEC work programme in 2023 and 2024.
You can find the AUWP 2023 at https://bit.ly/3Fcs2mm.
Publication of Safety Gate report 2022
The Safety Gate (ex-RAPEX) annual report 2022 was published and presented during a media event with European Commissioner Didier Reynders on 13 March 2023.
The total number of notifications in 2022 was 2.117, resulting in 3.932 follow-up actions. Toys (23%), motor vehicles (16%), cosmetics (10%), clothing (9%) and electrical appliances (8%) were the most notified product categories across the EU in 2022.
In a joint media release with BEUC, ANEC Director-General Stephen Russell said:
“No less than 23% of notifications across the EU concerned toys, the most notified category. This compares with 20% in 2021. The EU is justifiably proud of its toy safety legislation which is among the toughest in world, and the forthcoming Toy Safety Regulation will raise the bar higher on the inclusion of certain chemicals. Unfortunately, although most toy manufacturers are trustworthy, far too many toys are placed on the market that are non-compliant and even dangerous. We must work further to stop their sale.”
Link to Safety Gate Annual Report and factsheet: https://bit.ly/3TcSwKf. Link to the ANEC-BEUC media release: https://bit.ly/3Lwdjqh.
ANEC meets the SIS board
On 7 February 2023, ANEC Director-General, Stephen Russell, met the board of the Swedish Institute for Standards (SIS) during a fact-finding mission to Brussels for board members. The mission was led by SIS President Bo-Erik Pers; Vice-President (and current President of ISO) Ulrika Francke; and CEO (and current CEN Vice-President Technical) Annika Andreasen.
Discussions focused on the importance of consumer representation in standardisation - with our Director-General remarking on the notable contribution made to ANEC by the Swedish Consumers Association, and role played by ANEC’s Swedish member and Vice-President, Jens Henriksson - before moving on to the EU Standardisation Strategy, and the interplay between the European Standardisation System and ISO/IEC.
ANEC – ETUC Webinar on Social Responsibility
On 6 March, ANEC and the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) hosted a webinar on the future of social responsibility and the role for standards.
Professor Malcolm Fisk, Chair of the ANEC Project Team on Social Responsibility, guided the audience through the development and conclusion of the CEN Workshop Agreement, CWA 17895:2022 ‘Future of Social Responsibility’ and the lessons learnt by ANEC. Ornella Cilona (ETUC), gave the perspective of the trade unions, and joined a discussion on Environmental, Sustainability & Governance (ESG) developments in ISO.
Child Safety & Services
Adoption of CEN standard for carry cots
In February, ANEC sent a Favourable Opinion to CEN on the proposed adoption of FprEN 1466 ‘Child care articles - Carry cots and stands for domestic use - Safety requirements and test methods’. The ballot closed on 9 March, with all votes cast in favour.
The standard was developed by CEN TC 252 WG2 ‘Child care articles - Sleeping, relaxation and lying down’ with notable ANEC contributions.
Although supporting the adoption of EN 1466, we encouraged WG2 to move forward with a proposal to split the standard into two parts. The idea is to create two new standards, or at least one new standard with two parts, based on the present one. This is to allow carry cots with rigid sides and carry cots with soft sides to be addressed separately. We trust the latter will cover baby nests as no standard exists for these products.
Child Safety & Domestic Appliances
Button batteries
On the occasion of “Check your batteries day” on 12 March, ANEC stressed the importance to refasten the battery compartment of a product securely each time a button cell is replaced. If ingested by a child, button cell batteries can cause severe injuries to internal organs which can be fatal in as little as 2 hours.
ANEC continues to monitor standards to ensure children’s access to batteries is as difficult as possible, not only when in a product, but also its packaging. For example, children’s products (such as textiles, soother holders) must not contain button batteries unless a tool is needed to access them.
Following the EU joint market surveillance action ‘CASP2021 Electric toys’, ANEC expressed concern at the low-compliance of electric toys using button batteries. We urge Member States to take measures to remove these products from the market.
Accessibility
New Chair of ANEC Working Group
In February, the ANEC Steering Committee appointed Alejandro Moledo as the new Chair of the ANEC Accessibility Working Group.
Photo credit European Disability Forum
Alejandro has been a leading member of the Accessibility WG since 2016. Since May 2022, he has been Deputy Director of the European Disability Forum (EDF), where he leads EDF’s advocacy and policy work at EU level and supports the work of the EP Disability Intergroup. Alejandro has developed policy positions and recommendations on political participation of persons with disabilities, accessible Information and Communication Technologies, Assistive Technologies and various standardisation activities.
ANEC President, Dermott Jewell, welcomed Alejandro’s appointment as further evidence of a deepening of the relationship between ANEC and EDF in the accessibility field. He also paid tribute to the outgoing WG Chair, Jenny Darzentas.
Domestic Appliances & Sustainability
Repairability of tools and garden machinery
In January 2023, members of CENELEC TC 116 ‘Electric motor-operated hand-held tools, transportable tools and lawn and garden machinery’ were consulted on the adoption of a new work item for an EN on the repairability of electric tools, and lawn and garden machinery.
While the survey indicated that the reference document for the standard is mature enough to enter the formal development phase, it did not form part of the consultation. This led to ANEC abstaining, as we could not make a decision without knowing how the standard intends to address the safety of the products.
We also said it would be important to follow provisions of EN 45554 ‘General methods for the assessment of the ability to repair, reuse and upgrade energy-related products’, in respect of the target groups for the standard, degree of specialisation needed, and the environment required to perform the repair, re-use or upgrade of the product.
Sustainability
ANEC Sustainability WG on climate-related standards
The ANEC sustainability experts met online on 17 February 2023 to discuss climate-related standards. The focus was work in ISO (https://bit.ly/3Fd8VbR) intended to address the global climate crisis, characterised by more prevalent extreme weather conditions.
A specific topic was the work in ISO TC 59 ‘Buildings and civil engineering works’ taking place against a background of carbon neutrality and cost allocation.
The Chair of CEN TC 467 ‘Climate change’ (https://bit.ly/3ZUeGTN) joined us and gave an overview of work at European level in relation to climate change. He underlined participation of all stakeholders would be key to the success of its standards.
Given the importance of the green transition, ANEC intends to reinforce its work on climate change. A specific call for experts will be made soon.
Chemicals
Disappointing timeline for FCM Regulation
A further delay in revision of the Food Contact Materials (FCM) Regulation became apparent in February when the EC announced a revised timeline for the FCM Regulation. Member States were told of the delay in a meeting of the EC WG on FCM in December. In 2023, the EC now plans to consider "more detailed policy options" and their impacts. The work on a legislative proposal will take place only in "2024 and beyond". We consider the revision of the Regulation to be urgent, considering recent EC initiatives supporting use of recycled content in packaging in contact with food and drinks.
Earlier this year, we sent an answer to the public consultation questionnaire launched by the EC (https://bit.ly/3Fhke2H), as well as the ANEC position paper on Revision of Rules on FCMs (https://bit.ly/3l500lY).
Our contribution takes into account our reflections on the basic direction for the development of the legislative framework on FCM (https://bit.ly/3yrSx3p) and adds elements related to materials and articles to be covered, their aspects and the FCM production chain.
Restrictions proposed for “forever chemicals”
In February, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) released a long-awaited and important proposal to restrict 10.000 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs). These are known as “forever chemicals” due to their persistence in the environment. The action follows a proposal from Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, and it is something on which our experts have been working intensively.
For further details, see the ECHA press release (https://bit.ly/3FcUaWG) and proposal itself (https://bit.ly/3YAVKbI), as well as the reaction from BEUC (http://bit.ly/3ZVyXIO).
On 22 March, ECHA launches a public consultation on the proposal. However, we understand the EC plans to decide on the restriction by 2025, with the ban taking effect in 2026/2027.
Ecodesign
To bin or not to bin?
As the PROMPT project enters its final months, the consortium will organise a public event in Brussels on 28 March to share results and inform the discussion on premature obsolescence of consumer products.
PROMPT (https://bit.ly/3YF3mtD) is a project run since 2019 by a consortium of consumer groups, researchers and repair specialists. It aims to push for products designed to last and to spur new legislation. But what exactly causes consumer products to fail? And how can we assess whether a product is durable or not? To answer these questions, the PROMPT partners have set up an independent testing programme which enables identification and comparison of products on the market.
As the EU is drafting new rules to make products last longer and easier to repair, the PROMPT event will be the perfect opportunity to discuss how product testing can help improve design and fight premature obsolescence. The session will give the floor to the project coordinator for a brief presentation of the results of the project, followed by a panel discussion between MEP Borzan, IMCO Rapporteur for Empowering consumers for the Green Transition, APPLiA - Home Appliances Europe, and Belgian consumer organisation, Test Achat/Test AAnkoop.
More information and a registration form can be found at https://bit.ly/3ZCZFpI.
Digital Society
ESOs/ENISA Cybersecurity Standardisation Conference
In February, ANEC Deputy-Director General, Chiara Giovannini, spoke in a panel dedicated to digital identities at the ESOs/ENISA Cybersecurity Standardisation Conference 2023.
Chiara stressed that the interplay between IDAS2 and Cybersecurity Act certification is going to be key. Nevertheless, it is important to ensure consumers do not suffer discrimination or exclusion if they do not use the system. Hence use of the European eID must be voluntary.
The wallet associated with digital identity must be as resistant as possible to cyber-attacks given it contains sensitive data (such as personal identification data and attributes linked to a citizen/consumer), with identity theft being the main risk which needs to be addressed. It also needs to be accessible to consumers of all ages and abilities. She added ANEC expects standards will be needed to ensure cybersecurity and interoperability of the digital wallets.
To conclude, Chiara stressed that, if European standards are to reflect consumer needs, their development process must reflect consumer interests. A core value of Regulation 1025/2012 - the Standardisation Regulation – is its requirement for inclusiveness, and ANEC welcomes the political and financial aid it gives to ANEC as the collective voice of European consumers in standardisation. However, more must be done to support the participation of consumers at the national level, bearing in mind the national delegation principle.
We ask for risk assessment of ISO/IEC JTC 1 standards
While robust care and diligence throughout the consumer product lifecycle are the foundation of AI standards for consumer AI trustworthiness, our review of the current ISO/IEC JTC 1 SC 42 standards on AI shows the SC 42 standards put forward to CEN-CENELEC to adopt as ENs fall short of what consumers need.
We believe the SC 42 standards exaggerate claims of trustworthiness to consumers, If CEN-CENELEC propose to proceed with the adoption of the SC 42 standards, we recommend that the risks to consumers are assessed and mitigation actions identified. It should also be noted that Harmonised Standards must not contain requirements that contradict or fail to align with EU legislation, or allow the user of the standard to decide on the requirements. We suggest that CEN-CENELEC JTC 21/WG1 conducts an analysis of the SC 42 standards in this respect.
Services & Domestic Appliances
FIEP discusses fire safety and the involvement of women
ANEC attended a meeting of the Fire Information Exchange Platform (FIEP) on 'Electrical Fire Safety’ on 2 February.
The meeting showed the immense value of up-to-date fire statistics in formulating actions for fire safety. Regrettably, it is now ten years that ANEC has been seeking a pan-European accident & injuries database without success (https://bit.ly/40cyRwH).
We appreciate the EU Agenda for Tourism 2030 (https://bit.ly/3L9Y2eL), under the priority “enabling policy framework and governance”, commits the Institutions to plan actions to work on “improving the availability of statistics and interoperable data-sharing at all levels relevant to the tourism ecosystem”. Unfortunately, it does not explicitly refer to accident data, but we think it is crucial to take the opportunity for including these in a harmonised manner.
We also joined a meeting of FIEP on 8 March which discussed the involvement of women in the fire world. It considered the integration of gender into fire safety measures, and the role of women in the fire & rescue services.
Traffic & Mobility
ANEC responds to consultation on EURO 7
In December 2022, the EC released its long-awaited EURO 7 proposal for vehicle emissions limits, as the old EURO 6 standards reached 15 years of age in 2022. ANEC has highlighted the need for ambitious revision of the EURO 6/VI standards for years in order to cut pollution to the lowest level feasible. We used this opportunity to re-assert our position through the public consultation which closed in February 2023.
In general, we welcome the EC’s intention to modernise and simplify technical requirements applying to type-approved motor vehicles on emissions. Air pollution remains a preoccupying threat to the environment and human health, and urban populations are still exposed to pollutant levels above the prescribed limit values. A large part of these pollutant levels is due to road vehicles.
Regarding the content of the proposal, we acknowledge that test conditions proposed in Euro 7 will reflect real-life driving conditions better than Euro 6. As such, the new testing procedure should lead to emission savings. Despite these improvements, we remain critical of some key elements, such as the proposed durability thresholds, which do not match the average life expectancy of a car in the EU, and the worrying absence of an efficient method to measure particles from brake or tyre wear. We are also critical of a too-complicated vehicle designation system, and the introduction of eight sub-categories within EURO 7, which will be confusing to consumers.
| List of meetings 2023 |
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