by Luca Farkas
In recent years, standards have increasingly been recognized as key drivers of global competitiveness, particularly in the digital era. In February 2022, the European Commission introduced its first-ever Standardization Strategy, aiming to strengthen the EU’s competitiveness through more efficient and robust standardization processes.[1] Then, in November 2024, the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) published a report examining how standards support Europe’s digital competitiveness in the context of this strategy.[2] This article will outline the 2022 Standardization Strategy and review the EPRS findings, highlighting how standards can further enhance Europe's position in the global digital economy.
The EU’s 2022 Standardization Strategy
The 2022 Standardization Strategy focuses on five key actions to drive Europe's global competitiveness: prioritizing standardization needs, improving governance, strengthening Europe’s leadership in global standardization, fostering innovation, and ensuring the future availability of standardization expertise.[3] The strategy also underscores the need to develop standards that support Europe’s green and digital transitions, while highlighting the growing demand for new skills to address emerging technologies such as AI, cybersecurity, and the hydrogen economy.[4] By leveraging standards, Europe aims to strengthen its technological sovereignty while addressing global challenges. The officially recognized European standardization organizations have welcomed the new strategy, highlighting its role in reinforcing collective efforts to achieve the ambitious goals of the twin transition to a green and digital economy.[5]
Key Players Shaping Standardization in the EU
The development of European standards is driven by the three key European standardization organizations (ESOs): CEN, CENELEC, and ETSI.[6] These bodies bring together stakeholders to reach consensus on standards for various sectors, including telecommunications, electrotechnology, and broader technical areas. Additionally, the EU’s multi-stakeholder platform on information and communication technologies (ICT) standardisation works alongside the Commission to identify emerging standardisation needs, such as those for artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, and data interoperability.[7]
What Are Standards?
Standards are “voluntary guidelines, providing technical specifications for products, processes and services,”[8] often based on the available best practices for products and services.[9] As noted by the EPRS, these voluntary standards can be made preferred or mandatory by law, such as for example technical regulations under the World Trade Organization regime.[10] Standards ensure a minimum level of quality and promote interoperability. Thus, they not only build consumer trust but also support international trade by reducing regulatory barriers and enabling cross-border technology adoption.[11]
Digital Standards: The Cornerstone of Competitiveness
In the digital sector, standards have become a key tool for global competition, enabling smoother international trade and fostering the growth of emerging technologies.[12] They are essential for ensuring compatibility, safety, and affordability across the products we use every day—from mobile phones to Wi-Fi routers.[13] For instance, Wi-Fi, one of the longest-established standards, is governed by the IEEE 802.11 family of protocols, which define communication over wireless local area networks (WLANs).[14] These standards facilitate global communication and ensure seamless interoperability between devices. This is why, for example, we can make calls across different mobile networks or use a USB-C charger for a variety of devices.[15]
In certain sectors like software development, the EPRS has emphasized that a more open, collaborative approach to standards is often necessary, allowing for rapid adaptation and broader industry involvement.[16]
Standard Essential Patents (SEPs): The Secret to Innovation and Profit
By promoting operational efficiency and reducing costs, standards support the broader digital transition, enabling businesses to share data and maintain competitiveness in global markets.[17] When standards are paired with patents, as in the case of standard essential patents (SEPs), they generate royalties that fuel innovation.[18] SEPs can be found in many areas of technology, including for example WiFi or 5G, which latter encompasses about 26,000 SEP families.[19] Companies have a strong incentive to turn their patents into widely adopted standards, as this can create a profitable cycle that drives further technological progress.
From a competition law perspective, SEPs can have significant implications. For instance, as seen in cases like Huawei v. ZTE, the intersection of standards and patents can raise legal concerns regarding fair access and licensing terms. In this case, the CJEU adopted a "middle path" between the interests of SEP holders and implementers, imposing conditions on SEP enforcement to ensure fair, transparent, and non-discriminatory licensing.[20] Another relevant development is the EU SEP Directive.[21] In February 2024, the European Parliament adopted its position on the proposed regulation, which aims to improve transparency in SEP licensing.[22] The regulation would require SEP holders to register their patents with the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and undergo essentiality checks.[23] By addressing information asymmetries, the regulation seeks to promote the agreement of fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licenses. While some major SEP holders have expressed concerns about the added bureaucracy, the regulation is seen as a step towards more efficient and transparent SEP licensing.[24]
Global Power Play: How Geopolitical Rivalries Shape Technology Standards
International technology standardization has become a key geopolitical battleground, with the US, China, and the EU aligning their policies to advance strategic goals. The US and China, in particular, are competing for technological supremacy, each adopting hybrid models of government-private sector collaboration to influence global standards.[25] China’s 2021 shift towards a more cooperative standardization model, backed by heavy investments in domestic firms like Huawei, has challenged the US, EU, and Japan’s historical dominance, especially in areas like 5G.[26] In response, the US has increased government involvement in standard-setting bodies to counter China's rise. Meanwhile, the EU seeks to balance competition and cooperation with both the US and China, exemplified by initiatives like the EU-US Trade and Technology Council, which aims to align transatlantic efforts on emerging standards, such as digital identities.[27]
At the same time, the US and EU are strengthening their collaboration through the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC), a forum for the two sides to coordinate their approaches to global trade, economic, and technology issues.[28] Within the TTC, the US and EU are working to recognize mutually compatible technical standards to enhance transatlantic cooperation. Recent achievements include the establishment of internationally recognized standards for megawatt charging systems for heavy-duty vehicle charging points, along with joint efforts by US and EU standardization bodies in areas like plastics recycling and additive manufacturing.[29]
The Future of Standardization: Europe’s Role in Shaping Global Technology Standards
The development of recent standardization strategies (e.g., European Commission 2022, American National Standards Institute 2020) showcases that governments are becoming increasingly involved in setting and shaping technology standards.[30] In the EU, The EU also resorts to standards in its ‘Big Five’ data laws, especially the Digital Markets, Digital Services and the coming Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Acts.[31] Out of these, standards for AI, particularly under the EU’s AI Act, are a top priority, with CEN and CENELEC tasked with delivering essential standards by April 2025, covering areas like risk management systems, cybersecurity, and transparency.[32] Standards reduce trade barriers and enable global sales by harmonizing regulations, eliminating the need for local adjustments.[33]
[1] European Commission, An EU Strategy on Standardisation: Setting Global Standards in Support of a Resilient, Green and Digital EU Single Market, 02.02.2022, COM(2022) 31 final, https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/48598, hereinafter: European Commission, EU Strategy on Standardisation.
[2] European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS), Polona Car and Tristan Marcelin, How standards support Europe's digital competitiveness, 11.2024, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/ATAG/2024/766231/EPRS_ATA(2024)766231_EN.pdf, hereinafter: EPRS, How Standards Support Europe's Digital Competitiveness.
[3] European Commission, EU Strategy on Standardisation, page 2.
[4] Ibid., page 9.
[5] CEN and CENELEC, CEN and CENELEC Welcome the New European Standardization Strategy, 02.2022, https://www.cencenelec.eu/news-and-events/news/2022/press-release/cen-and-cenelec-welcome-the-new-european-standardization-strategy/. See also: ETSI, Sophia Antipolis, A Successful European Standardization System, 20 December 2022, https://www.etsi.org/committee/f5g?id=2163.
[6] EPRS, How Standards Support Europe's Digital Competitiveness, page 1.
[7] Ibid., page 2; European Commission, European Multi-Stakeholder Platform on ICT Standardisation (E02758), last updated 10.12. 2024, https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/expert-groups-register/screen/expert-groups/consult?lang=en&groupID=2758.
[8] EPRS, How Standards Support Europe's Digital Competitiveness, page 1.
[9] United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Creating Value with Standards: Industry Engagement for a Sustainable Future, 2024, https://hub.unido.org/sites/default/files/publications/ONLINE_Short_version_GQSP_Creating_Value%20%281%29.pdf, hereinafter: UNIDO, Creating Value with Standards, page 5.
[10] EPRS, How Standards Support Europe's Digital Competitiveness, page 1; UNIDO, Creating Value with Standards, page 7.
[11] UNIDO, Creating Value with Standards, page 5.
[12] EPRS, How Standards Support Europe's Digital Competitiveness, page 1.
[13] Ibid., page 1.
[14] Datamation, Devin Partida, A guide to the 12 most common IoT protocols & standards. 22.08.2023. https://www.datamation.com/applications/iot-protocols-and-standards/. https://standards.ieee.org/ieee/802.11/5536/.
[15] EPRS, How Standards Support Europe's Digital Competitiveness, page 1.
[16] Ibid.
[17] Ibid.
[18] Ibid.
[19] Harper James Solicitors, Jill Bainbridge, Standard Essential Patents, 07.12.2023, https://harperjames.co.uk/article/standard-essential-patents/.
[20] Norton Rose Fulbright, The EU Court of Justice Judgment in Huawei v ZTE – Important Confirmation of Practical Steps to Be Taken by Standard Essential Patent Holders Before Seeking Injunctions, 08.2015, https://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/en/knowledge/publications/8f90efbd/the-eu-court-of-justice-judgment-in-huawei-v-zte---important-confirmation-of-practical-steps-to-be-taken-by-standard-essential-patent-holders-before-seeking-injunctions.
[21] European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS), EU Legislation in Progress, 11.2023, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2023/754578/EPRS_BRI(2023)754578_EN.pdf.
[22] Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, European Parliament Moves SEP Regulation Forward, February 28, 2024, https://technologyquotient.freshfields.com/post/102j1db/european-parliament-moves-sep-regulation-forward.
[23] Ibid.
[24] Ibid.
[25] EPRS, How Standards Support Europe's Digital Competitiveness, page 2.
[26] Ibid.
[27] Ibid.
[28] European Commission, EU-US Trade and Technology Council, 2024, https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/stronger-europe-world/eu-us-trade-and-technology-council_en.
[29] The White House, U.S.-EU Joint Statement of the Trade and Technology Council, 05.04. 2024, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/04/05/u-s-eu-joint-statement-of-the-trade-and-technology-council-3/, Section II.A.
[30] IPRinfo, Technology Standards as a Key Battleground in an Era of Strategic Competition Between the United States, China and the EU, 17.10.2023, https://iprinfo.fi/artikkeli/technology-standards-as-a-key-battleground-in-an-era-of-strategic-competition-between-the-united-states-china-and-the-eu/.
[31] Ibid.
[32] EPRS, How Standards Support Europe's Digital Competitiveness, page 2.
[33] UNIDO, Creating Value with Standards, page 5.
