At the SBS expert meetings held on 11 and 12 February in Brussels, new SBS Director Maitane Olabarria welcomed nearly 50 experts from across the EU Member States. Twice a year, SBS experts representing SMEs in standardisation matters at European and International level meet in Brussels for exchanges, updates and discussions.

The meeting on the first day, targeting new experts, introduced the work of SBS experts, their rights and obligations. On the second day, the SBS Compatibility Test - a methodology developed to assess the relevance of a standard to SMEs - served as the basis for a lively discussion among the experts.

During the meetings, SBS had the honour of welcoming representatives of CEN-CENELEC, ISO and ETSI. Andreea Gulacsi, Joanna Frankowska and Deborah Wautier from CEN-CENELEC, Henry Cuschieri from ISO and Gavin Craik from ETSI presented the different standardisation bodies and outlined the ways in which they cooperate with SBS and its experts. Part of the meeting was also hosted at the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre.

Along with Hein Bollens, Deputy Head of the European Commission’s “Standards for Growth” Unit, the experts discussed the latest political developments at European level following the appointment of the new European Commission headed by Ms von der Leyen, and examined some specific questions concerning standardisation.

The next SBS expert meeting will take place on 21 October.