Better regulation by standards? Harmonized technical standards, transparency, and the rule of law

p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"font face="TimesNewRomanPS-ItalicMT, serif"This article outlines the characteristics and latest developments of the EU standardization system and analyses recent case law, particularly the Malamud case (Case C-588/21P). It then considers the future of this innovative governance system.The authors argue that, in view of the use of harmonized technical standards in areas with considerable potential societal impact (such as the Artificial Intelligence Act), and the fact that harmonized technical standards are now considered to form part of EU law, certain changes to the EU standardization system are required in order for harmonized technical standards to fully comply with the requirements inherent to the rule of law. The authors propose targeted improvements to the EU standardization system that aim for progressive and evolutionary improvement as opposed to a complete overhaul. The focus of these proposals is on retaining the system’s core philosophy and dynamics while addressing its weaknesses in transparency, accountability, and governance. /font