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Small and Medium Enterprises Hub

CEI offers this section of its website to present information, news, documents, products and services on technical standardisation dedicated in particular to Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs).

The CEI promotes initiatives and develops activities of mutual and fruitful collaboration, such as:

  • active involvement of Small and Medium Enterprises, or trade associations predominantly composed of SMEs, in technical standardization work through representatives appointed as members of Technical Committees;
  • targeted dissemination of normative documents
  • direct access to draft standards under Public Review
  • preparation of technical application guides (also subject to Public Inquiry) related to CEI and CEI EN standards on topics of specific interest;
  • development of software packages for the correct application of normative documents.
  • drafting of informational documents addressing specific application topics, responding to targeted requests from the industry, and concerning the implementation of EU Directives.
  • organization of free training days (conferences and seminars) throughout the national territory;
  • development of free training activities planned ad hoc in synergy with the updating and information needs of the Italian industry;
  • planning a wide range of training courses for the correct understanding, interpretation, and application of CEI Standards and Guides;
  • possibility to submit technical questions regarding normative documents for their correct interpretation and application;
  • signing collaboration agreements with trade associations predominantly composed of Small and Medium Enterprises for the promotion and development of technical culture and for economic benefits in favor of operators (subscriptions to collections of standards on topics of particular interest).

A preview of the standards can be accessed free of charge on the e-commerce web site. This is a limited preview of the PDF file, useful for identifying the required standard before making a purchase.
The preview is not viewable by those who have access to the full standard.

CEI provides the following documents to Small and Medium Enterprises:

  • New Work Item Proposals (NWIP): a list of topics related to new projects originating nationally, from IEC, and CENELEC, currently in the proposal stage for initiating new work, to which comments can be submitted;
  • Texts of national and international standards projects: the texts of national projects are freely accessible during the public inquiry period established by CEI regulations, as well as data related to international projects from IEC, CENELEC, and ETSI.

In both cases, you can use this form(21.2 KB) to submit comments, sending it to dt@ceinorme.it.

The National Standardisation Programme, presented hereafter, collects all the projects of technical standards that are being developed by CEI.

This document provides an overall and, at the same time, detailed view of all the national standardization activities currently underway.

CEI organizes free training days on technical-scientific topics related to standardization activities, aiming to provide in-depth insights into Standards and Technical Guides published by CEI throughout the year on subjects of particular current interest and relevance for national industry operators.

CEI’s free training conferences take place throughout the year in major Italian cities, thereby covering the entire national territory and offering all interested parties the opportunity to participate. These events are organized with the support of leading industry companies, under the patronage of the Ministry of Economic Development, the National Fire Brigade, and in agreement with the Orders of Engineers and the Colleges of Industrial Experts, awarding numerous professional training credits.

CEI also organizes numerous traveling seminars and webinars specifically designed on particular topics, in collaboration with SMEs and associated companies.

It is possible to consult a complete list of Seminars and Conferences scheduled for the current year.

In order to promote standardization culture and the correct application and interpretation of the standards themselves, CEI organizes training courses that can be held either at the CEI headquarters (or other locations in various Italian regions) or via live streaming. For some courses, an e-learning version is also available, accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
CEI’s catalog training courses can be customized in terms of dates and content and can be delivered at the premises of companies that request them.

All training courses produced and conducted by CEI are based on topics covered by CEI Standards and Technical Guides, and aim to assist SMEs in properly approaching the regulations by providing the tools to read, interpret, and practically apply the contents of the Standards and Technical Guides published by CEI.

A list of the next editions of the CEI courses is available.

CEINFOPOINT reports the lists of CEI, CENELEC and ETSI Standards made available monthly for dissemination at national level. Furthermore, information relating to work in progress and publications issued or in preparation are accessible and periodically updated.

The CEI participates in sector trade fairs, during which it promotes regulatory issues relating to the topics covered by the events.

Participation in the most important trade fairs in the sector represents an additional opportunity to promote and spread technical culture throughout the country, with the possibility of interacting directly with the individual user.

By attending with its own exhibition and information space, the CEI has the opportunity to promote not only the technical regulations, but also the other services offered for regulatory updates, professional training and participation in the sector’s regulatory activity.


The following is a list of the main national laws of interest to SMEs:

The following links point to the sites of national institutions, associations, regulatory bodies (national and supranational).


Below are listed the main documents of interest for SMEs published at the European level, as well as other relevant information:

UE Regulation (EU) No. 1025/2012 1025/2012 sulla normazione europea (PDF)
Report on SME Access to European Standardization: 58 recommendations (PDF)

SME Definition
https://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/sme-definition_en

SME Strategy
https://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/sme-strategy_en

SMEs’ access to markets
https://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/sme-strategy/access-to-markets_en

SME internationalisationbeyond the EU
https://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/sme-strategy/access-to-markets/internationalisation_en

Standardisationand SMEs
https://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/sme-strategy/access-to-markets/standardisation_en

Supporting entrepreneurship
https://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/supporting-entrepreneurship_en

COSME – Europe’s programme for small and medium-sized enterprises
https://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/cosme_en

Support for SME Internationalisation beyond the EU
https://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/sme-strategy/access-to-markets/internationalisation/support-tools_nn

Access to finance for SMEs
https://ec.europa.eu/growth/access-to-finance_en

The SME Performance Review 2020 / 2021
https://ati.ec.europa.eu/news/sme-performance-review-2020-2021-has-been-published

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
https://www.cencenelec.eu/get-involved/small-and-medium-enterprises-smes/smes-and-standards

SMEs and Standards Guide to the European Standardization Process (PDF)
https://www.unmz.cz/prilohyarchiv/279/SMEs_and_standards.pdf

Public Procurement as a Driver of Innovation in SMEs and Public Services (PDF)
http://www.base.gov.pt/mediaRep/inci/files/base_legislacao/Public-Procurement-Driver-of-Innovation.pdf


Other link:
Portale Commissione Europea per le PMI e la normazione tecnica
Portale Commissione Europea per le norme armonizzate


In early February 2014, CEN and CENELEC signed a collaboration agreement with Small Business Standards (SBS).

SBS is a European non-profit association, established in 2013, whose main task is to intensify the active participation and increasing involvement of SMEs in the European technical standardization process.

The role that SBS is called upon to play is to ensure that the interests of SMEs are adequately protectedin the standardization process through a constant flow of information on this aspect between ESOs and SMEs (and of course vice versa, signaling the specific needs of small and medium-sized enterprises). companies).

The activities of SBS have been requested and financed by the European Commission and replace those previously carried out by Normapme, a recently dissolved association.

The recently signed agreement paves the way for the systematic inclusion of SBS’s contribution to the standardization work of CEN and CENELEC, mainly through the direct participation of SBS representatives in a number of Technical Committees of the two European standardization bodies.

For more information about SBS, please see the following link.

For contacts with SBS