During the working trip to Europe, on September 16th in Brussels (Belgium), the Ministry of Construction delegation led by Deputy Minister Pham Minh Ha worked with the European Committee for Standardization (CEN).
The delegation was received by Ms. Adreea Gulasi – Director of Policy and External Affairs; Ms. Elker Martens – Project Manager for European and International Policy; Mr. Casper Van Herzele – Project Manager for Construction Standardization; Mr. Thierry Legrand – Customer Manager for Transport Standardization and colleagues.
The working delegation of the Ministry of Construction led by Deputy Minister Pham Minh Ha worked with the European Committee for Standardization (CEN).
At the meeting, Ms. Adreea Gulasi introduced the functions and responsibilities of CEN in developing and promulgating European Standards (EN), excluding the fields of electricity, electronics, and telecommunications, which are handled by CENELEC and ETSI.
CEN contributes to promoting the European single market, eliminating technical barriers to trade, and cooperating with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to harmonize international and European standards.
The two sides discussed and proposed solutions that CEN could use to effectively support Vietnam in developing standards and regulations.
Thanking the information shared by CEN, Deputy Minister Pham Minh Ha expressed his interest in the experience of applying European standards in countries outside the region, as well as the harmonization with domestic standards, the difficulties and obstacles in the conversion process.
The Deputy Minister requested CEN to provide contact points with experts and scientists in construction and transportation sector within the 68 Technical Committees, so that the Vietnamese side can have the opportunity to exchange and conduct further research to support the effective application of these standards in Vietnam.
At the same time, the Deputy Minister also requested CEN’s support in training and capacity building for Vietnamese officials and experts through cooperation with universities and research institutes, in order to systematically access European standards.
The CEN representative stated that they are willing to provide support and offer free access to European standards through membership registration within the CEN ecosystem and via the official channel - the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality of Vietnam.
By participating, Vietnam can access to the content of the standards, receive support in translation and adaptation to suit domestic conditions, attend conferences and thematic workshops, as well as stay informed in advance about CEN’s standard revision roadmap.
Concluding the meeting, Deputy Minister Pham Minh Ha thanked CEN for the warm reception and detailed information, and expressed his hope for continued support from the organization in the future.