Business sectors

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is progressing continuously and is already widely affecting various industry sectors on automation, data management, and the integration of smart technologies. Society is also impacted, as AI changes the way businesses operate, streamlines production, and transforms workers' skillsets and even the day-to-day life of consumers.

Due to its ubiquity, AI applies to a variety of sectors where standardization is of high relevance, such as smart manufacturing, robotics, autonomous transportation, virtual reality, healthcare, visual recognition, data analysis/manipulation, AI assisted decision-making, home appliances, cybersecurity, or spatial programming.

In its Communication COM (2018) 237 and White Paper on AI, the European Commission identified a series of challenges related to the deployment, interoperability, scalability, societal concerns, safety, and liability of AI, which create a need for standardization. Furthermore, the European Commission is also expected to publish legislation on Artificial Intelligence in 2024.

On this background, CEN and CENELEC are working side by side with the EU institutions to provide harmonized European standards that can provide presumption of conformity with legislation. Preliminary work has already started, in the form of a first Standardization Request on Artificial Intelligence, which CEN and CENELEC are currently working on.

The Joint CEN-CENELEC Technical Committee 21 (CEN-CLC/JTC 21) on Artificial Intelligence was created in 2021 to address the European market and policy needs. In 2024, the Committee will start the development of European Standards in support of the upcoming Standardization Request on Artificial Intelligence by adopting relevant International Standards as ENs and supplementing these with new European Standards to underpin European policies.

The relevance of information security is not limited to ‘digitally native’ businesses: it is increasingly key for all sectors, including traditional industries. The security of information and communication systems is an area of increasing concern, both for public authorities and for private companies. While ICT technologies open new opportunities, they also create threats to operational safety, robustness, and resilience. Standards can help mitigate this kind of cyber risk. Part of this work consists of collecting the new best practices that allow manufacturers and service providers to improve the security features of products, services and processes and boost consumer’s trust in the digital environment.

Furthermore, to ensure a horizontal application of cybersecurity requirements for digital products, the European Commission published in 2022 a proposal for the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA). The implementation of this important piece of legislation will rely on harmonized standards and a Standardization Request is expected to be delivered in the second half of 2024. CEN and CENELEC Technical Bodies involved in the preparatory work currently include: JTC 13, CLC/TC 9X, CLC/TC 65X, CLC TC 205, and CEN TC294.

The CEN and CENELEC Joint Technical Committee 13 (CEN-CLC/JTC 13) ‘Cybersecurity and Data Protection’ will continue the development of harmonized European Standards in support of the activated cybersecurity-related articles 3.3(d), (e) and (f) of the Radio Equipment Directive (2014/53/EU), to become applicable in 2024. These standards will provide a baseline for cybersecurity for all internet-connected radio equipment. In cooperation with the European Commission (see here and here), these standards will be cited in the Official Journal of the European Union, thereby guaranteeing manufacturers complying with them conformity with the related European legislation.

In 2024, CLC/TC 65X ‘Industrial-process measurement, control and automation’ will continue to progress, in parallel to the IEC, on the development the EN IEC 62443-series ‘Security for industrial automation and control systems’. This series provides security-related requirements that could be made applicable across different sectors, fostering a common approach that can be replicated in different ecosystems. The same TC will also further continue the development of the EN IEC 63278 series ‘Asset Administration Shell (AAS) for industrial application’. These standards are intended for industrial applications, but they are also applicable to other sectors: a potential format for the data representation of a Digital Product Passport.

Work will also continue on the harmonization of EN IEC 61326-1 ‘Electrical equipment for measurement, control and laboratory use - EMC requirements - Part 1: General requirements’ under a new amendment of the Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Directive.

In 2024, CLC/TC 65X also expects to start work on potential modifications of IEC needed for compliance with the upcoming CRA.

DATA CENTRES

In 2024, CLC/TC 215 ‘Electrotechnical aspects of telecommunication equipment’ plans to continue revising existing documents in the EN 50600 series on ‘Information technology - Data centre facilities and infrastructures’. In particular, it will focus on EN 50600-3-1 ‘Information technology - Data centre facilities and infrastructures - Part 3-1: Management and operational information’. The TC will also explore closer alignment with European Commission initiatives, such as the JTC EU Code of Conduct for Data Centres, regarding the recently published CLC/TS 50600-5-1 ‘Maturity Model for Energy Management and Environmental Sustainability’. Finally, CLC/TC 215 will investigate updates to existing standards on generic cabling design (EN 50173 series) and IT cabling installation (EN 50174 series).

BLOCKCHAIN AND DISTRIBUTED LEDGER TECHNOLOGIES

Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies are promising developments in ICT for sharing data and managing transactions in a decentralized, controlled manner. The use of such technologies continues to grow rapidly, as testified by the development of many applications and systems in the context of Industry 4.0. Some noteworthy use cases can be seen in the energy, health, manufacturing, and finance sectors.

In 2024, CEN-CLC/JTC 19 ‘Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies’ will continue to mirror the activities of ISO TC 307 to develop a dedicated architecture of standards in Europe, taking policy-related developments into account. The JTC will notably address the topics of electronic identification and cybersecurity, in cooperation with CEN/TC 224 ‘Personal identification and related personal devices’ and CEN-CLC/JTC 13 ‘Cybersecurity and Data protection’. It is expected to finalize work on a generic reference framework: this will be the first deliverable in a series on a decentralized identity management model based on blockchain and distributed ledger technologies.

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR LEARNING, EDUCATION AND TRAINING

CEN/TC 353 ‘Technologies supporting education and learning processes’ develop standards for the educational sector, from kindergarten to schools, up to higher education and lifelong learning.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the educational sector has been in a process of transition: the emergence of advanced learning technologies will have an enormous impact on how children will be educated. This has generated a need for a change of paradigm, which calls for considering the inclusion of digital tools and technology in education (EdTech) in education. If these technologies are still in their infancy, a tremendous development within this domain is to be expected in the years to come.

Based on this awareness, CEN/TC 353 aims to create a set of basic rules and guidelines on how technology should be developed and used by European educational institutions to achieve their educational and pedagogical goals, and at the same time ensure that the requirements are implementable by the EdTech industry.