EU Seeks to Counter China’s Influence Over Global Standards

(Bloomberg) -- The European Union is seeking to boost its role in standard setting for key digital and green technology amid concerns that China and some corporations are wielding “excessive influence.”

The European Commission, the bloc's executive arm, is poised to unveil a strategy as soon as Wednesday aimed at ensuring the EU punches its weight in the international bodies where many of the specifications of global technology are thrashed out.

“The EU's global competitiveness and strategic autonomy are at risk, as well as the ability of the EU to promote its values,” says a draft document of the strategy seen by Bloomberg.

Companies selling into multiple markets want a one-size-fits-all approach to regulation and products. That has traditionally given the EU power -- known as the Brussels Effect -- to export its internal standards to companies and countries seeking to sell into the region's internal market.

But the text says that other actors have followed a “much more strategic approach” in standard setting and have gained influence in international standardization committees. China has aggressively worked to place allies in standard setting bodies that will decide the technical parameters, people familiar with the matter said.

Strategic Areas

“In strategic areas, like batteries, facial recognition or the digital twin,” virtual models designed to accurately reflect physical objects, “other regions are taking the lead in international technical committees pushing their technological solutions,” according to the EU document.

The Brussels-based commission declined to comment on the draft proposals, which could still be changed before they're made public.

Given the quickly evolving nature of some of these technologies, setting the standards give an advantage to developers and companies that can impose their technical parameters as it is very expensive to change them afterwards.

The EU is particularly worried about the loss of ground in the International Telecommunications Union, the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission, according to the draft document.

Another area of concern for the commission is the international standardization on internet protocols, which has become increasingly politicized.

Part of the EU strategy to become a first-mover and lead international standard-setting includes leveraging its trade agreements and cooperation with other like-minded countries, including the U.S. through the Trade and Technology Council. This is one of the issues that could be discussed during the next meeting of the TTC planned for May, EU officials said.

Corporate Influence

The commission is also concerned about the “uneven influence and voting power” that some corporate interests hold within the European Telecommunications Standards Institute, ETSI, and some other European organizations, sometimes representing third country's interests.

“Some multinationals have acquired more votes than the national standardization bodies that represent the entire stakeholder community,” the draft strategy reads.

For that reason, the commission will amend the EU rules to ensure that national standardization bodies are responsible to decide on the critical stages of the development of standards corresponding to a European standardization mandate, such as technical specifications, European standards or harmonized standards.