Introduction
The Rolling Plan for ICT Standardisation provides a unique bridge between EU policies and standardisation activities concerning information and communication technologies (ICT). This helps to increase convergence of standards makers’ efforts towards achieving EU policy goals. This document is the result of an annual dialogue involving a wide-range of interested parties as represented by the European multi-stakeholder platform on ICT standardisation (MSP). The Rolling Plan focuses on actions that can support EU policies and does not claim to be as complete as the work programmes of the different standardisation bodies.
Standardisation actions identified in this document to support EU policies are complementary to other instruments, in particular the Annual Union Work Programme (AUWP). The Rolling Plan attempts to list all known areas where ICT standardisation could support EU policy objectives. It also details the requirements for ICT standardisation, translates them into actions and provides a follow-up mechanism for the actions.
The Rolling Plan 2024 identifies around 260 actions grouped into 39 technological or application domains under foundational drivers and four thematic areas: key enablers, societal challenges, innovation for the single market and sustainable growth. Particular prominence is given to three horizontal “foundational drivers” under section 3.0, including updated chapters on data economy, cybersecurity and e-privacy. These are all technology areas for standardisation that go right across the spectrum of standards-making, and may need to be referenced by many, even most, specific activities. Their challenges arise at every step of digitalisation and policy makers need to be more aware that ICT standardisation is the tool to tackle them.
What's new in the 2024 Edition?
As every year, the European Commission and the Multi Stakeholder Platform (MSP) reviewed and updated all chapters of the Rolling Plan. The updates in each chapter include new developments on policy initiatives and related objectives (provided in the parts A.1, A.2, and A.3 of each chapter), and the latest information on completed and ongoing standardisation work related to the respective topic area (parts C of each chapter). The actions (part B) in each chapter are updated and completed actions removed. The driver for refreshing the chapters is to make sure they continue to relate to the European Standardisation Strategy, support EU strategic objectives, and associate EU strategic objectives with global ICT standardisation activities.
As a result, the 2024 edition includes a number of substantial revisions. The chapters on Data Economy (3.0.1) and Data Interoperability (3.1.3) were extensively revised and aligned with progress on the EU data strategy. The title of chapter 3.1.3 changed from “Big data, Open Data and Public Sector Information” to "Data Interoperability". The new title more accurately reflects the contents of the chapter. Following a workshop organized by the European Commission and MSP in June 2023 on Intelligent Transport Systems, the corresponding chapter 3.4.5 on "Intelligent Transport Systems - Cooperative, Connected and Automated Mobility (ITS-CCAM) and Electromobility" was updated considerably. Other chapters that underwent substantial revisions were the chapter on "Cybersecurity / Network and Information Security" (3.0.2) and the chapter on "Web 4.0 and Virtual Worlds" (3.3.7), which was previously called "Metaverse".
What are the trends?
The Rolling Plan is reviewed and updated each year. The changes from one year to the next occur mostly in specific chapters, but one can also discern wider trends over the years.
Digitalisation in Europe must fully respect European fundamental rights and values. The Rolling Plan reflects this policy by introducing a chapter Foundational Drivers in 2022 which has three fundamental topics: Cybersecurity, Privacy and Data Economy. The topic on Data Economy was new in 2022.
The focus on societal values is also visible in the introduction of the topic Safety, transparency, due process online in 2021, standards for ensuring a safe online environment and the respect of fundamental rights online. And as part of the effort to support the Green Deal, the Rolling Plan includes chapters on standardisation for ICT environmental impact and for the Circular Economy as of 2021. In 2024, Circular economy has been renamed to Circular economy and sustainability.
Standards for Artificial Intelligence (AI) have been an important topic in the Rolling Plan for more than 5 years. The information in the Rolling Plan has been instrumental in the publication of the Standardisation Request by the European Commission issued in support of the AI Act. As a result, we will see increased activity on standardisation for AI in the years to come, which will continue to be refected in the Rolling Plan.
Standardisation for the Data Economy and Data Interoperability is gaining traction fast. The Data Act, Data Governance Act, Cyber Resilience Act are driving forces behind this trend, and the European economy as a whole increasingly relies on the uninhibited flow and exchange of data.
An area receiving increasing attention by mainstream standards developers is accessibility, critical to allow equal distribution of the benefits of technological advancement in society. The European Accessibility Act (EAA; Directive (EU) 2019/882) requires a high level of accessibility to be ensured in a very large range of ICT related products and services. Dedicated standardisation is getting under way in advance of the EAA entering into force, and is referenced in chapter 3.1.8. But accessibility aspects, addressed where possible on a design-for-all basis, will need to be taken into account in standardisation work under many other chapters of the Rolling Plan.
The Rolling Plan also keeps in line with technological advances. The 2023 edition of the Rolling Plan looks beyond 5G and addresses also standardisation to facilitate the transition to 6G. And as from 2021, the chapter on Cloud Computing also take into account standardisation for Edge Computing. As of 2021, the Rolling Plan also includes a chapter on standardisation for U-Space, the European traffic control space for drones. Intelligent Transport Systems received particular attention in 2024.
In the years to come we'll continue to see the Rolling Plan focus increasingly on supporting EU strategic objectives. Following the standardisation request for AI, more standardisation requests are imminent for current and future European digital regulations. This may include standardisation actions to enable implementation of the Data Governance Act, Data Act, Digital Services Act, Digital Markets Act, Cyber Resilience Act and Digital Europe Act. New technologies such as Quantum Technologies, 6G and Digital Twins will receive more attention in future editions of the Rolling Plan.
About the Rolling Plan
EU policies supported by ICT standardisation
FOUNDATIONAL DRIVERS
Cybersecurity / network and information security
KEY ENABLERS
Electronic identification and trust services including e-signatures
e-Infrastructures for data and computing intensive science and the European Open Science Cloud
Broadband infrastructure mapping
Accessibility of ICT products and services
European Global Navigation Satellite System (EGNSS)
SOCIETAL CHALLENGES
Digital health, healthy living and ageing
Safety, transparency and due process online
Emergency communications and public warning systems
INNOVATION FOR THE DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET
e-Procurement – pre- and post award
Preservation of digital cinema
Fintech and Regtech Standardisation
Blockchain and Distributed Digital Ledger Technologies
SUSTAINABLE GROWTH
Smart grids and smart metering
Smart and sustainable cities and communities
European Electronic Toll Service (EETS)
Digitisation of European Industry
Robotics and autonomous systems
Construction - building information modelling
Common Information Sharing Environment (CISE) for the EU maritime domain.
Water Management Digitalisation
Circular economy and sustainability
Horizontal Building Blocks
Annex I - List of Member States' Work Plans and Strategies
Annex II - List of Links to Standards Bodies' Web Sites With Up-to-date Information on Ongoing Work
Annex III - Term Definitions and Main Abbreviations