Developing European Standards - BSI says its business as usual

Developing European Standards - BSI says its business as usual

One of the areas that FETA members are involved in is the development of European standards, and some members have questioned what will happen following the referendum result on 24 June 2016.

BSI has provided helpful information which can be summarised as "business as usual".  Text from a BSI letter to CEN committee chairmen is below and can also be found on http://www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/about-bsi/media-centre/EU-referendum/

BSI statement

Following the result of the UK referendum to leave the EU there will be a transition period while the UK Government negotiates the terms as a result of the referendum. There are three areas where BSI currently holds important positions as part of the EU and these are as follows:

1.   BSI’s role as the National Standards Body

As the UK’s National Standards Body, BSI will continue to develop and publish British Standards. Our membership of the two international standardization organizations, ISO and IEC, will not be affected where we will continue to play an influential leadership role.

There are three European Standardization Organizations - CEN, CENELEC and ETSI. Our full membership of CEN and CENELEC will continue while the UK Government sets out the arrangements for its withdrawal from the EU. During this transition period, BSI will be working with the UK Government (such as Department of Business, Innovation and Skills) and other parties as appropriate such as European political institutions and European Standardization Organizations regarding its role in the development of the European standardization system. We expect BSI’s membership of ETSI will be unaffected

We will continue to keep you updated on a regular basis as the political situation develops and discussions progress.  For now, it’s business as usual and most importantly, we would like to assure you that BSI will continue to help organizations as we have done for the past 115 years.
 
2.   BSI’s role as an EU Notified Body for Product Certification

BSI’s role as an EU Notified Body will not change while UK Government sets out the arrangements for its withdrawal from the EU. We anticipate that products already certified and those certified while the negotiations progress, will continue to be accepted by the EU authorities and member states of the EU. During this transition period, BSI will be working closely with the UK Government (such as Department of Business, Innovation and Skills) and UKAS (UK Accreditation Service) to enable BSI to continue being recognized as a Notified Body.  

BSI further anticipates it will remain an EU Notified Body for assessing and approving products against the relevant CE directives and regulations (e.g.  Construction Product Regulation, PPE Directive and the Gas Appliance Directive).  There are recognized existing mechanisms in place for non-EU countries to participate, these include the Mutual Recognition Agreements between the EU and America, Canada, Australia, Switzerland and Japan.  Regulatory authorities in these countries designate Notified Bodies to carry out these activities in the same way as member states of the EU.   

We will continue to keep you updated on a regular basis as the political situation develops and discussions progress.  For now, it’s business as usual and most importantly, we would like to assure you that BSI will continue to help organizations as we have done for the past 115 years.

3.   BSI’s role as an EU Medical Devices Notified Body

BSI’s role as an EU Notified Body will not change following the recent decision of the EU referendum while the UK Government sets out the arrangements for its withdrawal from the EU. During this transition period, BSI will be working closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to enable BSI to continue being recognized as a Notified Body for Medical Devices.

BSI fully anticipates we will remain a long term major EU Medical Device Notified Body as there are established well recognized existing mechanisms in place for non-EU countries to participate as EU Notified Bodies.  For example, the designated organizations in Norway (under EEA recognition), Switzerland and Australia (through Mutual Recognition Agreements) are recognized as Notified Bodies for the purposes of the relevant EU legislation.

We will continue to keep you updated on a regular basis as the political situation develops and discussions progress.  For now, it’s business as usual and most importantly, we would like to assure you that BSI will continue to provide EU market access as we have done since the inception of the three EU Medical Device Directives.

All management systems training and accredited certification remains unaffected by the outcome of the referendum.

28-06-2016


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