CENELEC, the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization, was created in 1973 as a result of the merger of two previous European organizations: CENELCOM and CENEL. Nowadays, CENELEC is a non-profit technical organization set up under Belgian law and composed of the National Electrotechnical Committees of 30 European countries. In addition, 8 National Committees from neighbouring countries are participating in CENELEC work with an Affiliate status.

CENELEC members have been working together in the interests of European harmonization since the 1950s, creating both standards requested by the market and harmonized standards in support of European legislation and which have helped to shape the European Internal Market. CENELEC works with 15,000 technical experts from 30 European countries. Its work directly increases market potential, encourages technological development and guarantees the safety and health of consumers and workers.

CENELEC’s mission is to prepare voluntary electrotechnical standards that help develop the Single European Market/European Economic Area for electrical and electronic goods and services removing barriers to trade, creating new markets and cutting compliance costs.

A Resolution of 7th May 1985 of the European Council formally endorsed the principle of reference to European standards within the relevant European regulatory work (Directives), thereby paving the way to a New Approach in the philosophy of regulations and standards in Europe. In the light of this New Approach, CENELEC is developing and achieving a coherent set of voluntary electrotechnical standards as a basis for the creation of the Single European Market/European Economic Area without internal frontiers for goods and services.

In addition to the traditional European standard deliverables, the dynamic Workshop (CWA: CENELEC Workshop Agreement) has been included in its portfolio, offering an open platform to foster the development of pre-standards for short lifetime products where time-to-market is critical.

Brief Historical Note

Thirty-one years after the Meter Convention in Paris on 20 May 1875 (one of the earliest steps of international cooperation), a meeting held in London in 1906 resulted in the foundation of the International Electrotechnical Commission as it had been suggested by a resolution adopted two years before at the 1904 session of the International Electrical Congress in St. Louis.

In Europe, during the twenties and thirties, needs for standardization in the electrotechnical field were mainly answered on a national basis. Around 1940, this action resulted in the existence of a nearly complete catalogue of electrotechnical standards in each industrialized European country.

The IFK (Installationsfragen-Kommission) was set up in 1926 in Berlin to “issue rules and regulations for electrical equipment (wiring, accessories and appliances) and check the fulfillment of such rules and regulations”. World War II forced it to inactivity. Work resumed in 1946 and IFK changed its name to Commission on Rules for the Approval of Electrical Equipment (CEE or CEEel). The first CEE/CEEel specifications defining characteristics of electrotechnical products were issued in 1949. A Cooperation Agreement had been signed with the IEC the year before and the first joined publication came out in 1952.

By that time, Europe was already engaged in its centralizing foundation process that led to the signature of the Treaty of Rome in the city that gave it its name, on 25 March 1957. It is actually the ancient EEC that raised, for the first time, the idea and need to coordinate and harmonize standards in all EEC member countries in order to achieve a common market for electrotechnical goods.

This principle is reflected in the Treaty of Rome itself, where Article 100 is of capital importance: "Member States resolved unanimously to abolish existing trade barriers created through legislation and standardization". Important national associations of electrical and electronic manufacturers soon got together to identify the technical barriers to trade that raised costs, distorted production patterns, increased unit and stock holding costs, discouraged business cooperation and frustrated the creation of a common market for electrotechnical products and services.

In 1959, five IEC National Electrotechnical Committees (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands) out of the six EEC member countries (Luxembourg did not conduct national standardization activities at that time) met and formed a body that became known from 1963 onwards as CENELCOM, the European Committee for the Coordination of Electrotechnical Standards in the European Economic Community. The aim was to harmonize national standards in areas where trade barriers existed. "Groups of Experts" were created to harmonize national standards in defined areas on the basis of a chosen reference document. By the end of 1959, some principles, which are still valid today, had already been drawn up:

· Priority to IEC work wherever possible
· Mutual information on new national work
· Technical co-operation in technical groups
· Cooperation in testing and certification

CENEL, the European Committee for the Coordination of Electrical Standards, the second direct ancestor of CENELEC, came into being in October 1960. Under the name of CENEL, the CENELCOM members (those mentioned above together with Luxembourg) collaborated with the IEC National Electrotechnical Committees of 7 EFTA countries (Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom) in order to study IEC standards and to find out, by means of questionnaires, how far these standards were being uniformly implemented within the 13 countries. Finland later associated itself with these studies.

CENELCOM and CENEL worked side by side until the end of 1972, when Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom joined the EEC. CENELCOM and CENEL were disbanded and a new organization under Belgian law was established from 1 January 1973: CENELEC (the acronym was mentioned for the first time in the Steering Committee meeting of Paris on 3-4 May 1972). The new body took over all the work of its two predecessors, including responsibility for the CENEL Components Committee (founded in 1970) which later became the CENELEC Electronic Components Committee (CECC).

At first, CENELEC was established as a de-facto association without formal legal status. The daily affairs were entrusted to the Belgian Electrotechnical Committee. On 25-26 November 1976 new Articles of Association were signed with the intention to establish an AISBL, French acronym for Non Profit International Organization. The formal legal status was granted in the fall of 1978. The resulting procedures defining the original activities of CENELEC were not affected by the revised text: it only affected some stipulations required by Belgian Law.

In 1977 Spain joined CENELEC, in 1978 Luxembourg participated formally for the first time. Greece in 1980 and Iceland in 1988 also joined CENELEC.

The Czech Republic became member of CENELEC in November 1997, followed by Malta in October 2001, Hungary and Slovakia in June 2002 and Lithuania in June 2003. Estonia, Latvia, Poland and Slovenia joined in January 2004, Cyprus joined in February 2004 and Romania in March 2006. Bulgaria was the last country to join CENELEC, so far, in January 2007 bringing the number of members to 30.