During a meeting at Austrian Standards Institute on April 30 2009, MEP Dr. Paul Rübig, pushed for an increased use of the instrument of standardisation on a Europe-wide basis.

Dr. Rübig: "What can be done by standardisation should be done within the realm of standardisation. The motto should be: less legislation, more standardisation."

If one had solved the question of a Europe-wide use of energy-efficient lamps or the ban of conventional light bulbs with the help of standardisation, one would surely have reached a more appropriate solution, which would be acceptable for all parties involved, said the EU parliamentarian in a conversation with Managing Director Dr. Gerhard Hartmann and Deuputy Managing Director DDr. Elisabeth Stampfl-Blaha.

Further topics of the conversation were questions concerning the financial contributions of the European Union to the development of standards, as well as the participation and increased involvement of small and medium size enterprises (MSEs) in the process of standardisation.