15.11.2006 Official Journal of the European Union L 315/9 DECISION No 1673/2006/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 24 October 2006 on the financing of European standardisation THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Commu- nity, in particular Articles 95 and 157(3) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1), Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (3, Whereas: 1 European standardisation is a voluntary activity performed by and on behalf of parties interested in establishing standards and other standardisation products in response to their needs. These standardisation products are drawn up by the European Committee for Standardisation, the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute, bodies listed in Annex I to Directive 98/34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations and of rules on Information Society services (>) (hereinafter European standardisation bodies). Directive 98/34/EC allows the Commission, after consult- ing the committee set up by the Directive, to submit requests for standardisation to the European standardisa- tion bodies. General Guidelines for the Cooperation between CEN, Cenelec and ETSI and the European Commission and the European Free Trade Association of 28 March 2003 (%) set out the partnership relationships between European standardisation bodies and the Com- munity and the European Free Trade Association, which also provides support for European standardisation. It is necessary for the Community to contribute to the financing of European standardisation in view of the latter’s useful role in supporting its legislation and policies. On the one hand, European standardisation contributes to the functioning and strengthening of the internal market, thanks especially to the New Approach directives in the fields of health, safety and environmental and consumer protection, and to ensuring interoperability in fields such as OJ C 110, 9.5.2006, p. 14. Opinion of the European Parliament of 17 May 2006 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and Council Decision of 18 September 2006. OJ L 204, 21.7.1998, p. 37. Directive as last amended by the Act of Accession of 2003. 0OJ C 91, 16.4.2003, p. 7. C) transport. On the other hand, European standardisation helps to boost the competitiveness of enterprises by facilitating in particular the free movement of goods and services, network interoperability, means of communica- tion, technological development and innovation in activities such as information technology. Therefore, it is appropriate to include in this Decision the financing of European standardisation activities in the field of information technologies and telecommunications, which is also governed, in particular, by Council Decision 87/95/EEC of 22 December 1986 on standardisation in the field of information technology and telecommunications (°). This Decision should provide an explicit, complete and detailed legal basis for the Community’s financing of all the European standardisation activities required to implement its policies and legislation. It is necessary to ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises, particularly small, micro and craft enterprises, are able to apply European standards. These standards should therefore be designed and adapted to take account of the characteristics and environment of such enterprises. Community financing should seek to establish standards or other standardisation products, to facilitate their use by enterprises through their translation into the various official Community languages, to strengthen the cohesion of the European standardisation system and to ensure fair and transparent access to European standards for all market players throughout the European Union. This is especially important in cases where the use of standards enables compliance with Community legislation. The appropriations allocated to European standardisation activities should be fixed every year by the budgetary authority within the limits of an indicative financial envelope for a period of the relevant financial framework and should be the subject of an annual Commission decision fixing amounts and, where necessary, the maximum co-financing rates by type of activity. In view of the very broad field of involvement of European standardisation in support of Community policies and legislation and the different types of standardisation activity, there should be provision for different financing arrange- O] L 36, 7.2.1987, p. 31. Decision amended by Regulation (EC) No 807/2003 (O] L 122, 16.5.2003, p. 36).