CEN - The European Committee for Standardization
The European Committee for Standardization (CEN).
CEN is contributing to the objectives of the European Union and European Economic Area with voluntary technical standards which promote free trade, the safety of workers and consumers, interoperability of networks, environmental protection, exploitation of research and development programmes, and public procurement.
European standards produced by CEN must be implemented by the national standards bodies of all EU and EFTA member countries. When published by the national body the European standard is given the status of a national standard and a national reference is added the European standard number on the cover and on any other pages included in the national edition.
Example
The European standard EN 10255:2004 Non-alloy steel tubes suitable for welding or threading is published by BSi - British Standards institute as BS EN 10255:2004, and by DIN - Deutsches Institut für Normung as DIN EN 10255:2004.
The main text of the standard remains unchanged and the technical requirements are identical to all member countries. The text is normally translated to the national language.