Treatment of BT decisions by correspondence

This page specifies the actions required to ensure a consistent approach in the treatment of draft decisions which are handled by the CEN Technical Board (BT) by correspondence.

1 PROCESS

1.1 CCMC identifies a need for a decision to be taken by BT by correspondence and prepares a draft decision including the related supporting documents (if any), using the appropriate format.

1.2 CCMC makes the draft decision available to the BT Permanent Delegates (PDs) and observers by uploading it onto the BT Working Area on SD Docs. In addition, CCMC updates the E-balloting platform for voting.

1.3 PDs cast their vote via the E-balloting platform within the voting period:

• in case the proposal in the draft BT decision includes the creation of a new Technical Body, the voting period lasts 12 weeks (and closes at midnight on the date of the deadline) and PDs shall mention in their comments whether or not they are committed to actively participate in the work of the new Technical Body;
• in all other cases, the voting period lasts 4 weeks (and closes at midnight on the date of the deadline), except in defined periods during the summer and Christmas breaks, where the vote lasts 6 weeks.
  Observers may submit comments on the draft BT decision via the E-balloting platform during the voting period but have no voting rights.

A PD voting on a draft BT decision can answer as follows:

• agreement: may be accompanied by comments;
• disagreement with comments: must be justified and therefore accompanied by comments;
• deferring decision: must be justified and therefore accompanied by comments – should only be expressed when the PD is convinced that the proposal in the draft decision should not be adopted. A deferring decision automatically leads to the suspension of any decision on the draft decision.
  In exceptional cases, a PD could vote 'deferring decision' for only some elements of the draft Decision (under the conditions mentioned above) and agree with other elements. On the condition that such a position is clearly stated in the PD's comments, the assessment of the voting results could lead to the adoption of one part of the draft Decision and the postponement of the decision on the other part to the next BT/TCMG or BT meeting;
• abstention: in this case the justification is optional - absence of reply is equivalent to abstention.

1.4 During the consultation by correspondence and for issues common to both BTs, NSBs and NCs should:

• effectively find an aligned national position for CEN and CENELEC;
• in case of a divergent outcome in CEN and CENELEC, the decision is failed in both CEN and CENELEC and CCMC will call within one month after closure of the consultation for a (web)meeting (participation: open to all BT members and Permanent delegates) in order to resolve the comments and present a corrected proposal to BTs (correspondence or meeting if appropriate). If however, on closure of the consultation, the next common BT session is less than 4 weeks away, the matter will be dealt with at that meeting.

1.5 After the voting period, CCMC downloads the voting report from the E-balloting platform.

In case the proposal in the draft BT decision includes the creation of a new Technical Body, the adoption of the decision is subject to the following three conditions (all shall be met):

• 55.00 % or more of the votes cast (abstentions not counted) are in favour,
• the population of the countries of the Members having voted positively reaches 65.00% or more of the population of the countries of all Members having voted (abstentions not counted).
• at least 5 Members confirming their commitment to participate actively in the work of the new Technical Body.

In case the proposal in the draft BT decision is to accept a standardization request, or justified limited technical changes to the text of a draft standard (after a positive vote and prior to publication), the vote and adoption of the decision is subject to the following conditions (all shall be met):

• 55.00 % or more of the votes cast (abstentions not counted) are in favour, and;
• the population of the countries of the Members having voted positively reaches 65.00% or more of the population of the countries of all Members having voted (abstentions not counted).

In addition, any vote on a Standardization Request indicating ‘deferring decision’ will be counted as ‘Disagrees with comments’.

In all other cases, the adoption of a decision is subject to a simple majority vote (the number of agreements must be greater than the number of disagreements with comments) and no deferring decision must have been cast.

1.5 CCMC analyses the comments and, in case of ambiguous comments, votes or voting results, contacts the originator and/or balloter(s) concerned for clarification. During this time, the results of the voting may remain pending.

The Sector Rapporteurs have the formal option to request that a decision of importance to their sector be discussed at the next BT or BT/TCMG meeting. However, this has no influence on the outcome of the ballot.

1.6 When the decision is adopted:

1.6.1 The comments, if any, received from PDs and observers may result in a slight modification of the text that has been circulated as a draft decision and/or a follow-up action. However, substantial changes to the text are avoided. A brief CCMC report on the handling of the received comments is added to the voting report.

1.6.2 CCMC makes the voting report, all comments received and the decision itself available to the PDs and observers on the BT Working Area, and notifies the PDs and observers accordingly.

1.6.3 The PD ensures that the technical bodies for which their organization is responsible are informed of the relevant decision. CCMC also informs the relevant technical body.

1.6.4 The decision is acted upon by the body or entity concerned, as stipulated in the decision.

1.6.5 CCMC makes a collection of adopted decisions available to PDs by electronic means.

1.7 When the decision is not adopted:

1.7.1 Where appropriate, a brief CCMC report on the handling of the received comments is added to the voting report.

1.7.2 CCMC makes the voting report and all comments received available to PDs and observers on the BT Working Area and notifies them accordingly.

1.7.3 CCMC generally refers the failed decision to the next BT/TCMG meeting where the votes and the comments received are taken into account for further decision. In certain cases, however, the failed decision may be referred to a BT meeting or be the subject of a new draft BT decision for adoption by correspondence.