Events and meetings 2010

- NORMAPME experts meeting 19/01/2010

The first NORMAPME Experts Meeting of the year took place on January 19th, 2010 in Brussels at the NORMAPME secretariat. The aim of this meeting was to exchange experience and best practice between experts on how to improve the standardisation process, how to make proposals for improvements and have them accepted, and how to simplify standards in order to meet SMEs needs.

The meeting provided a welcomed stage for the exchange of best practice and in some cases, the sharing of problems encountered by the experts. The debates were lively and fruitful, responding both to the general needs of NORMAPME as well as to those of the experts.

Each expert introduced the Technical Committees or Working Groups he/she followed, before presenting the concerns or issues that were related to SMEs in those particular committees and groups.

The round-table discussion provided for shared conclusions, as all experts feel that standards are of high relevance and of strategic importance for SMEs, and that without their presence within the TC, SMEs interests would not be defended at all. It is still felt that decisions – within the majority of the TCs - are being taken by stakeholders representing large companies or consultants/certifiers.  The difficulty in having access to all the information and documentation related to the TCs within the LIVELINK still creates problems for most of the experts.

The presentations given during the meeting can be found below:

- Barbara Sorgato Normapme experts meeting jan 10

- Chris Tebbs ISO TC 38

- Csilla CSIHA CEN TC 351

- F.Massimo_e-CF_into_SMEs

- Florent LIFFRAN EMF_presentation

- Freija Fonteyn CEN supply chain security

- Giulio DALLOLIO-CENELEC TC 64

- Jaap Hogeling TC156-228

- Karsten Zimmer TC 33 WG 5

- Laurence Mulon TC 392

- Ludovic Lauwers CEN TC 89

- Martin Prager_e-health_tc251

- Riccardo Viaggi EPBD

- Lorenzo Accardo questionnaire experts

- Valentina Mauri ecodesign-energy labelling

- Valentina Mauri revised standardisation package

- Vanessa Pereira WG208 SME guide

- Protypos 2009

Each year, the Protypos award goes to a European personality for his/her out-standing achievements in promoting the interests of  SMEs in the standardisation process.

The 2009 Protypos was awarded to Mr Günter Verheugen, Commission Vice President, on the premises of NORMAPME on the 2nd of July 2009.

Each year, the Protypos Award goes to a European Personality for his/her outstanding achievements in promoting the interests of SMEs in the standardisation process.

The 2008 Protypos was awarded to:

Mr Jacques TOUBON, MEP

Past awards:

2007 - Dr Albrecht Mulfinger

French MEP Jacques Toubon receives 2008 “Protypos” award

Brussels, 16 July 2008 – The “Protypos – personality of the year” award, which celebrates and recognises the activities of personalities who played a significant role in promoting the cause of SMEs in the standardisation arena, was assigned in Brussels yesterday (Tuesday). Sponsored by NORMAPME, the organisation representing small businesses in the European standardisation and certification systems, the 2008 Protypos prize went to French MEP and member of the Internal Market Committee Jacques Toubon, in recognition of his long-standing commitment towards European crafts and SMEs.

Mr Toubon’s dedication to Europe’s small enterprises was reconfirmed once again last February, when the Parliament dramatically improved the so-called “goods package”, a framework on various horizontal legislative aspects of marketing of products, including CE marking.

Further to Mr Toubon’s and his colleagues’ improvements to the “goods package”, small series and custom-made goods will not be submitted to the same rules applied to large-scale production, and conformity assessments will be considerably facilitated. Moreover, conformity assessment bodies will have to ensure proportionality and consider the so-called “4S”, i.e. the operator’s size, structure, economic sector and serial production when testing SMEs’ products. Finally, trade associations can now use and set up notified testing laboratories and certification bodies, thereby cutting costs and increasing the number and the SME-friendliness of facilities available. All these measures are not only an important step forward per se, explained Mr Müller; they will also become the cornerstone of a large number of sector regulations, the first two of which (on toys and construction products) are already in the pipeline. “Mr Toubon’s vision and political acumen in dealing with such a sensitive dossier have earned him our gratitude and admiration. Today’s award is a token of our respect, and a wish for our fruitful collaboration to continue in the years to come”, concluded Mr Müller.

The Protypos award is shaped like an Attic amphora, one of the most popular container designs in ancient Greece. In those times, amphorae where in use for transport, storage and management of goods, which could be measured not only by weight but also by number. Amphorae were thus one of the first volume standards, facilitating trade thanks to their mutually recognised value. NORMAPME chose this shape for its award due to its symbolic meaning. The first Protypos prize was awarded in 2007 to Mr Albrecht Mulfinger, who retired in 2006 after a long and successful career at the European Commission, during which he played a key role in the set-up of NORMAPME.