CEN/CENELEC enlarge membership to include Turkey
The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) have both decided to grant full membership status to the Turkish Standards Institution (TSE). This change will take effect on 1 January 2012, and represents an important step towards the full participation of Turkey in the European Single Market.
TSE has already been cooperating closely with CEN and CENELEC for several years, and in January 2008 it became an affiliate of both organisations. The application of TSE to become a full member of CEN and CENELEC has been formally accepted by the General Assemblies of both organisations, in accordance with their respective rules and procedures.
Following the accession of TSE, both CEN and CENELEC will have national members in 32 European countries, covering more than 590 million consumers in total. These include all 27 countries of the European Union and three countries of the European Free Trade Association (Iceland, Norway and Switzerland) plus two EU candidate countries (Croatia and Turkey).
Since 1995, Turkey has been in a Customs Union with the European Union. This covers trade in manufactured products between Turkey and the EU, and also entails alignment by Turkey with certain EU policies, such as technical regulation of products, competition, and Intellectual Property Law. The decision to recognize Turkey as a candidate for EU membership was taken by the European Council in December 1999, and accession negotiations were formally opened in October 2005.
Elena SANTIAGO CID, Director General of the CEN CENELEC Management Centre in Brussels explains the significance of TSE’s membership of CEN and CENELEC:
“The accession of the Turkish Standards Institution as a full member of both CEN and CENELEC is a very positive and important development, both for Turkey and for the European Standardization system. It means that Turkey will be better placed to participate fully in the European Single Market, because there is a clear commitment to the acceptance of European Standards (ENs) and the elimination of any conflicting national standards.”
“On behalf of CEN and CENELEC, I very much welcome the participation of TSE in our structures, and I am convinced that our Turkish friends will make a positive contribution to the continuing success of the European Standardization system in the coming years.”
Source: CEN/CENELEC press release