The EU will on Wednesday outline a more aggressive approach to setting global standards for cutting-edge and green technologies in a concerted effort to counter the influence of China.
Margrethe Vestager, the bloc’s competition chief, told the Financial Times the new strategy was designed to ensure Europe continued to set international benchmarks that guided the development of everything from facial recognition systems, advances in battery power and the next generation of environmental innovations.
“This is strategic,” said Vestager. “It’s really, really important who sets the standards because they should enable a market to work, but not to make innovation difficult.” She added the EU wanted to implement the plan “as fast as possible”.
The emerging strategy is important as companies seeking to enter the EU’s internal market have had to satisfy the region’s tough rules, often forcing countries around the world to adopt Europe’s approach to regulating products and services.
But China has shown an increasing appetite to set international standards on important technologies, such as the rollout of 5G mobile networks, following advances made by tech giants such as Huawei.
EU and US officials have grown concerned that China has become successful at lobbying key technology standards-setting bodies, such as the International Telecommunication Union and the International Electrotechnical Commission, in ways that could provide an edge to its local champions.
As part of the EU’s plans, European officials will work alongside US authorities on a new monitoring system on emerging standards, a method to have a unified position on tech rulemaking. They also plan to use joint resources to ensure start-ups are aware of coming standards, while relying on experts to foresee coming technological developments.
The US and EU will meet regularly through the Trade and Technology Council, an existing grouping of top transatlantic officials, to iron out details on how the co-operation will work.
To illustrate the challenge, Vestager pointed to China’s earlier efforts to redefine the basic standards for the internet, which would give state-run internet service providers more control over the way people surf the web.
She cited that move as an example of how Beijing could take a lead on crucial technology standards that run counter to the approach of western governments and its tech companies.
“When you work from a standard that is your benchmark and if that standard is set in a vibrant, democratic market economy, you get one [global] standard that will work,” Vestager said.
Beijing has also been drafting a fresh strategy entitled “China Standards 2035” as it seeks to become a setter of international rules in fields such as 5G and artificial intelligence.
As part of plans to counter these moves, Brussels will “urgently” develop standards for important technologies and environmental challenges, according to draft proposals seen by the FT.
“Europe’s competitiveness, technological sovereignty and promotion of EU values, highest social and environmental ambitions will depend on how successful European actors are at international level,” the document stated.
