Four pre-identified beneficiaries are invited to apply for a recently launched call aiming to support their operations and contributions to the EC Standardisation strategy:
- Small Business Standards (SBS)
- The European Consumer Voice in Standardisation (ANEC)
- The Environmental Coalition on Standards (ECOS)
- The European Trade Union Confederation (CES ETUC)
This action is funded under the Support to Standardisation strand of the Single Market Programme, managed by the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) in collaboration with the Directorate General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) of the European Commission.
Policy background of this action
The Regulation (EU) 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European standardisation, adopted on 25 October 2012 emphasises the importance of the participation of all relevant interested parties including SMEs and societal stakeholders in the European standardisation process. Standards are important tools for the competitiveness of undertakings and especially SMEs, whose participation in the standardisation process is important for technological progress in the Union.
Furthermore, standards can have a broad impact on society, in particular on the safety and well-being of citizens, the efficiency of networks, the environment, workers’ safety and working conditions, accessibility and other public policy fields. However, standards are written by technical experts who represent the fields of activity of the companies which these experts work for. It is therefore important for the EU to facilitate and support the participation of experts representing background and interests of SMEs and societal stakeholders in the standardisation process, especially in the European context where European standards play a very important role in supporting EU legislations and EU policies. Historically, the participation of SMEs and societal stakeholders had been supported by different EU programmes.
The Regulation has put the inclusiveness of the European standardisation process as a priority and unified the legal basis for the role, the establishment and the financing of European stakeholder’s organisations in standardisation.
More info on the call
The call is by invitation only and reserved to the four pre-identified beneficiaries, who receive a direct invitation.
The grants will be awarded for the following topics:
Topic 1. SMP-STAND-2025-1-AG-IBA-SBS - Support to organisations representing SMEs interests in standardisation activities
Topic 2. SMP-STAND-2025-1-OG-IBA-ANEC - Support to organisations representing consumer interests in standardisation activities
Topic 3. SMP-STAND-2025-1-OG-IBA-ECOS - Support to organisations representing environmental interests in standardisation activities
Topic 4. SMP-STAND-2025-1-OG-IBA-ETUC - Support to organisations representing social interests in standardisation activities
Opening date: 8 July 2025
Deadline for application: 4 September 2025, 17:00 CET
Total budget: EUR 5 773 000
Details
- Publication date
- 8 July 2025
- Author
- European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency