Standards, Barriers to Trade and EU Internal Market Rules : Need for a Renewed Approach?

In light of the speedy technological development in society, technical standards are becoming increasingly important. In the early days, the specific tasks delegated to standardization bodies under the New Approach did not attract much political interest. Today, however, politicians and different stakeholders realize that the tasks delegated to the standardization industry are highly important for voters and consumers. This article shows how the Court of Justice of the European Union has tried to balance the efficiency in the standard-making process with constitutional requirements under EU law. It is submitted that a far-reaching politicization of the standardmaking process is not desirable. It is important to preserve the voluntary and market-driven nature ofstandards. Therefore, the real challenge consists in finding a Renewed Approach which is flexible enough to be possible to apply in different areas depending on the political and societal interests at stake