ANEC: The European consumer voice in standardisation

ANEC is the European consumer voice in standardisation. This means we represent the European consumer interest in the creation of technical standards, especially those developed to support the implementation of European laws and public policies.

Although that may not sound important or interesting, standards provide the nuts and bolts of modern society. Ever thought why your mobile phone works away from home? Yes, standards. Ever thought why you need to carry a bag full of electrical adaptors when you travel abroad? That’s right - a lack of standards!

ANEC participates principally through its voluntary experts in the standards development work of the three European Standards Organisations (ESOs) recognised by the European Union and EFTA:

However, we also participate in other organisations which develop standards whose use could directly or indirectly affect the European consumer. One such organisation is the World Wide Web Consortium (www.w3.org), responsible for developing the protocols and guidelines necessary to support the Web.

ANEC also has an interest in the use of standards and the use of certification schemes that demonstrate conformity to standards (such as the GS Mark in Germany and the European ‘Keymark’). We also seek to influence the development or revision of European legislation related to products and services which is likely to affect the consumer.

The representation of consumers in the European standardisation process is a public interest activity dependent upon European public funding. Hence the ANEC budget is financed by the European Union (95%) and EFTA (5%).
In 2009, the ANEC budget totals 1,5M€. The participation of our voluntary experts is considered by the European Commission and EFTA Secretariat as a contribution in kind. In 2007, the ANEC Secretariat calculated the value of this contribution to be 260.000€.

ANEC is an international non-profit association established under Belgian law with a central secretariat in Brussels, Belgium. We are recognised by the European Commission and EFTA Secretariat and are a full member of the European Consumer Consultative Group (ECCG).

What is the economic benefit of standards?

The academic study of the benefits of standards and standardisation has been quite limited and focused at the national level, but the German national standards body, DIN, has calculated that the use of standards contributes one percentage point to the annual growth of the German economy (about 20.000M€).

Similarly, the United Kingdom government attributes 13% of the growth in British labour productivity since 1945 to the use of standards.

Although ANEC appreciates these measures of the economic benefits in underlining the importance of standards, we still await a formal academic assessment of the contribution of standards to societal welfare.

How is ANEC structured?

ANEC is governed by a General Assembly (ANEC/GA) which comprises one individual from each of the 30 countries of the European Union and EFTA. The individual is nominated through a collective decision of the national consumer organisations in each country and acts as the interlocutor between them and ANEC. Each General Assembly serves a four-year term and ordinarily meets annually. The General Assembly meeting is presided over by the ANEC President, elected by the General Assembly from among its membership for a two-year term. The ANEC Secretary-General acts as its secretary.

The strategic decisions of the General Assembly are implemented by an executive board known as the ANEC Steering Committee (ANEC/SC). Chaired by the ANEC President, the Steering Committee comprises up to nine members elected by the General Assembly from among its membership for a two-year term. The Steering Committee members elect the ANEC Vice-President and ANEC Treasurer, again for two-year terms. The Steering Committee meets up to four times each year and also works by correspondence.

Each field of priority in which ANEC operates, determined by the ANEC General Assembly and Steering Committee, has a Working Group (ANEC/WG) as its focus. Each WG has a Chair (appointed as an observer to the General Assembly) and Secretary (a Programme Manager from the ANEC Secretariat). Its members are voluntary experts drawn from across the countries of the ANEC membership. Among other responsibilities, each WG is responsible for defining the priorities in its sector and for determining the positions of the ANEC representatives in the ESOs and similar organisations.
In 2009, the ANEC budget allowed ANEC to operate in seven main areas of priority: Child Safety, Design for All (DfA), Domestic Appliances (DOMAP), Environment, Information Society, Services and Traffic.

The ANEC Secretariat acts as the hub of the association. Headed by the ANEC Secretary-General, it co-ordinates the activities of its national actors at European (and sometimes international) level; supports the governance and technical bodies of the association and the members of those bodies, and leads on the lobbying of the European institutions.

ANEC Success stories

We are a little reluctant to focus on specific success stories in case it gives the impression that our success is limited to a few big wins. Not so. ANEC helps to shape standards and legislation each and every day. But if we do have to point to some high-profile successes:

Lighters

Around 1200 fires in the European Union each year – and 20 fatalities – have been attributed to children under five years of age playing with cigarette lighters. Many of these accidents could have been avoided if the lighters had been fitted with childproof devices. ANEC was instrumental in achieving a decision of the European Commission and the Member States to ban most types of lighter from sale in the European Union from 11 March 2008 unless the lighter complies with the European Standard EN 13869:2002 ‘Lighters – Child resistance for lighters – Safety requirements and test methods’. In December 2008, ANEC was successful in working with partner organisations to encourage the German Länder to adopt the Commission Decision in full: a failure to do so would have led Germany to have become a dumping ground for non child-resistant lighters after 11 March 2009.

Cords on children's clothes

Cords and drawstrings on children’s clothing present a choking and strangulation hazard, particularly when used in the head and neck areas of garments. An ANEC proposal led to the development of the European Standard EN 14682:2007 ‘Safety of children’s clothing – Cords and drawstrings on children’s clothing – Specifications’. The standard bans the use of cords and drawstrings in the head and neck area of clothes intended for children below the age of seven years.

Juice extractors

ANEC became aware of a catalogue of incidents where people were injured when the rotating disc of their juice extractors broke free of the extractor. ANEC commissioned a chemical test which revealed that a combination of citric acid and detergents could damage the disc and weaken its retaining mechanism. As a result of the ANEC findings, the European Standard covering the construction of juice extractors was revised to improve the safety of the product.

Domestic Electrical Appliances

The specifications for the range of domestic electrical appliances (‘white goods’) are set through the EN 60335-2 series of European Standards. The first generation of these standards featured a ‘limitation clause’ or ‘exclusion clause’ which presumed that young, elderly or disabled people would use appliances in conformity with these standards only under supervision. ANEC argued successfully that the clause was unfairly discriminatory, leading to the creation of a dedicated working group (CENELEC TC 61/WG 4) to revise the standards. Due to the complexity of the European legislation governing domestic electrical appliances and the need to ensure both safety and accessibility, the revision process has proved complex. ANEC continues to provide financial support in order to determine the technical solutions needed to facilitate the revisions. Even so, the programme of revision is not expected to be complete until 2012.

Kellogg’s Snack Stacks

ANEC (with its sister organisation, BEUC) lobbied the Kellogg Company to withdraw its Lego Snack Stacks food product from the trial market of the United States. We were concerned about the sweets’ resemblance in colour and size to the famous Lego toy brick. We were also uneasy at the packaging of the sweets which was far closer in appearance to a Lego product than another Kellogg food product. Although the sweets were not on sale in Europe, we were fearful at both the possible introduction of the product into the European market and the potential purchase of the sweets by a family holidaying in the United States. We very much welcomed the response of the Kellogg Company to withdraw Lego Snack Stacks at the end of December 2008.

What is ANEC?