BackEuropean Ombudswoman Teresa Anjinho has opened an inquiry into how the European Commission ensures transparency, inclusiveness, and accountability in the adoption of harmonised standards for artificial intelligence (AI).
The inquiry follows a complaint from a civil society organisation concerned by the fact that the standardisation bodies responsible for developing the standards for the Commission are not required to publicly disclose information about the individuals working on them and do not publish the minutes of their meetings. The complainant also argues that the Commission has failed to ensure a balanced representation of interests in the standardisation process.
As a first step in the inquiry, the Ombudswoman has asked the Commission to reply to a series of questions concerning matters such as the composition of the group preparing the standards, the transparency rules applied by standardisation bodies, how the Commission is managing and monitoring the standardisation process, and how it will review its outcomes.
The Ombudswoman has also asked the Commission to provide her inquiry team with a number of documents concerning the matter.
Background
Harmonised standards are European standards developed by a recognised European Standards Organisation following a request from the European Commission. Companies can use harmonised standards to demonstrate that products, services, or processes comply with relevant EU legislation, which allows them to access the EU market.
In May 2023, the Commission issued a standardisation request concerning the AI Act to two private European standardisation organisations: the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation (CENELEC). The Commission asked them to ensure that the harmonised standards will contribute to minimising risks stemming from AI to safety and fundamental rights. This means that these organisations will need to address not only technical matters but also broader discretionary choices with regard to how high-risk AI systems should be designed and used to ensure the protection of fundamental rights in the EU.
Source: Office of the European Ombudswoman
