CEN, CENELEC and ERA restate their commitment to working together

The signature on 12 February 2018 of the renewed cooperation agreement between the European Committee for Standardization (CEN), the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) and the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) of the European Commission will further enhance the harmonization of technical standards for Railways.

Renewed agreement reaffirms longstanding cooperation

Through the agreement, CEN and CENELEC together with ERA will provide a comprehensive set of technical documents aiming to guarantee a high level of railway safety and interoperability, and improve the competitive position of the railway sector. The agreement reaffirms a longstanding cooperation in the field of technical standardization in support of Interoperability and Safety of Railways established under the previous Cooperation Agreement signed in May 2007. The partners already collaborate in a wide range of projects and technical fields, and aim at reducing the number of contradictory technical specifications still existing in the sector.

Speaking on the occasion of the signing ceremony in Brussels on 12 February, Dr. Josef Doppelbauer, Executive Director of the European Union Agency for Railways said: “This agreement will strengthen the long-standing favourable cooperation between CEN and CENELEC and we look forward to working together to establish a sustainable and efficient railway transport system in Europe, taking also benefit of a reinforced collaboration between researchers, innovators and standardizers”.

Elena Santiago Cid, Director General of CEN and CENELEC, added: “We look forward to continuing our productive co-operation with the Railway Agency and we welcome the good working exchanges aiming at developing harmonized standards supporting the Safety Essential Requirements of the Interoperability of the Rail System Directive, and complementing the Technical Specifications of Interoperability developed by the Agency.”

Collaboration important for uptake of standardization in EU policies

Standardization is a key element in many EU policies and for achieving policy goals. Therefore, a strong cross-sector and multi-disciplinary cooperation between CEN and CENELEC, and the European Agencies is vital to ensure effective uptake of standardization in EU policy making. As the Agency in charge of development of railway specifications, ERA provides the EU Member States and the Commission with technical assistance in the fields of railway safety and interoperability. This involves the development and implementation of Technical Specifications for Interoperability and a common approach to questions concerning railway safety.