CEN, the European Committee for Standardization, is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to foster the European economy in global trading, the welfare of European citizens and the environment by providing an efficient infrastructure to interested parties for the development, maintenance and distribution of coherent sets of standards and specifications.

CEN was founded in 1961. Its 29 National Members work together to develop voluntary European Standards (ENs) in various sectors to build a European Internal Market for goods and services and to position Europe in the global economy. More than 60.000 technical experts as well as business federations, consumer and other societal interest organizations are involved in the CEN network that reaches over 460 million people. CEN is the officially recognized standardization representative for sectors other than electrotechnical (CENELEC) and telecommunications (ETSI). 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... An internal market operates inside an organisation or set of organisations which have decoupled internal components. ... CENELEC (French: Comité Européen de Normalisation Electrotechnique) is the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization. ... The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) is a standardization organization of the telecommunications industry (equipment makers and network operators) in Europe, with worldwide projection. ...

The Standardization Bodies of the 29 National Members represent the 25 Member States of the European Union, three countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and countries who are likely to join the EU or EFTA in the future. CEN is contributing to the objectives of the European Union and European Economic Area with voluntary technical standards (EN standards) which promote free trade, the safety of workers and consumers, interoperability of networks, environmental protection, exploitation of research and development programmes, and public procurement. The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) was established on May 3, 1960 as an alternative for European states that were not allowed or did not wish to join the European Community (now the European Union). ... The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) was established on May 3, 1960 as an alternative for European states that were not allowed or did not wish to join the European Community (now the European Union). ... Map of the EEA countries. ... Free trade is an economic concept referring to the selling of products between countries without tariffs or other trade barriers. ... Consumers are individuals or households that consume goods and services generated within the economy. ... Interoperability is the ability of products, systems, or business processes to work together to accomplish a common task. ... Environmental movement is a term often used for any social or political movement directed towards the preservation, restoration, or enhancement of the natural environment. ... The phrase research and development (also R and D or R&D) has a special commercial significance apart from its conventional coupling of research and technological development. ...

The current CEN Members are: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom. The Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland) is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Dutch: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden). ...

See also

• List of EN standards
• ETSI
• CENELEC

This is an incomplete list of European CEN and CENELEC standards: // EN 1-999 EN 1: Flued oil stoves with vaporizing burners EN 374: Protective gloves against chemicals and micro-organisms EN 388: Protective gloves against mechanical risks EN 420: Protective gloves. ... The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) is a standardization organization of the telecommunications industry (equipment makers and network operators) in Europe, with worldwide projection. ... CENELEC (French: Comité Européen de Normalisation Electrotechnique) is the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization. ...

External links

• CEN homepage
• European Union standards policy homepage