ENNormen

ENnormen, or European standards, are a family of technical specifications published for Europe by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and its partners CENELEC and ETSI. They establish common requirements and test methods to ensure safety, quality, and interoperability of products, services, and systems across the European market.

Standards are developed by technical committees consisting of national standards bodies, such as DIN (Germany), AFNOR (France), or BSI (United Kingdom). The process includes drafting, public comment, voting by member bodies, and formal adoption. Once published, EN standards may be adopted nationwide as national standards.

Many EN standards are harmonized with EU legislation. When a standard is harmonized and cited in the Official Journal of the European Union, it provides a presumption of conformity with the relevant directive, aiding manufacturers in obtaining the CE marking for their products.

ENnormen cover diverse sectors, including construction, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and information technology. They can be voluntary, but may become mandatory if a directive or national regulation requires conformity with a harmonized standard or references it in law.

Standards are organized by number and title. Notable families include the Eurocodes (EN 1990 series) for structural design and product safety standards such as EN 60601 for medical devices. Standards are periodically reviewed and revised, with national bodies translating and adopting the ENs while maintaining national counterparts where appropriate.