Vienna Agreement
The Vienna Agreement ( English Vienna Agreement ) regulates the technical cooperation between the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the European Committee for Standardization (CEN). It is particularly about the parallel acceptance of the work results of standardization bodies.
The aim of the Vienna Agreement between ISO and CEN is to carry out standardization work on one level, if possible, but to achieve simultaneous recognition as an international and a European standard by means of suitable coordination processes . A similar regulation called the Frankfurt Agreement exists between IEC and CENELEC .
In addition to the regulations for parallel voting, the Vienna Agreement includes the entire range of cooperation. The accompanying guide for the application of the technical cooperation agreement between ISO and CEN contains a large number of details on the individual procedures to be used. For every new standardization project that CEN accepts for processing, it should be checked whether it cannot be developed at ISO level. The work programs are to be coordinated and jointly agreed on international and European draft standards. Mutually authorized observers are allowed to participate in the technical committees .
meaning
The functioning of the European internal market in connection with the new conception of the EC is based to a large extent on the existence of European standards. It is the declared policy of the European standardization bodies as well as the wish of the European Commission to base the European standards as far as possible on international standards and preferably to adopt them unchanged. According to the rules of procedure of the European bodies CEN and CENELEC, European standards must be transferred unchanged to the national standards . Deviating national standards must be withdrawn.
method
- Determination of which standardization level takes the lead
- Standardization work at the specified level up to the draft (observers from the other level are permitted)
- Simultaneous parallel consultation (inquiry) on both levels
- Evaluation of the votes on both levels
- Creation of the final draft in the specified level (observers from the other level are permitted)
- Simultaneous parallel voting (formal vote) on both levels
- Evaluation of the votes on both levels
- Publication or further processing on both levels
history
The Vienna Agreement was adopted in 1991 by the CEN Administrative Council and the ISO Executive Board and is still valid in this form today. It replaced the older Lisbon Agreement of 1989, which still focused on the mutual exchange of information.
literature
- Klaus-Peter Schulz: Keywords for European Standardization, Beuth, 2002