What are harmonized standards?

Harmonized standards (see the database of harmonized standards for an overview) are technical standards developed in accordance with European regulations and adopted by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN), the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC), or the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). The aim is to facilitate the free movement of goods and services within the European Union. European standards become harmonized only after notification in the Official Journal of the EU (OJEU) regarding the relevant regulation.

Harmonized standards must be accompanied by Annex ZA, which lists references to the provisions of this standard corresponding to the requirements of the harmonized European regulation. Annex ZB, containing the relationship of the relevant European standard to other directives, may also be included here.

Note! European harmonized standards are non-binding, and must therefore remain non-binding even when adopted into national standards. However, compliance with the requirements of a harmonized standard as specified in its Annex ZA is considered to satisfy the relevant provisions of the European regulation. Although these annexes are not normative but merely informative, they are binding in terms of compliance with the directive’s requirements, particularly regarding the CE marking of the product.

When a harmonized standard is published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU), the date from which the standard is considered harmonized is specified. From that date, manufacturers may refer to this standard.

Link to the official source of the European Commission - Harmonized Standards.

All European standards, including harmonized ones, are adopted into the ČSN. According to Act No. 22/1997 Coll. (see § 4a in detail), a Czech technical standard becomes a harmonized Czech technical standard if it fully adopts the requirements set forth by a harmonized European standard. It follows that from the moment a harmonized European standard, which had already been adopted into ČSN, is newly published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU), that ČSN becomes a Czech harmonized standard. Harmonized standards are no longer published in the ÚNMZ Bulletin alongside the relevant regulations.