Implementing the EU AI Act through standards: Updates from CEN-CENELEC JTC 21

Description

Implementation of key requirements within the EU AI Act—the world’s first comprehensive AI law—will be supported by the development of European harmonised standards. As the Act will become effective from August 2026, this year represents a critical juncture for CEN-CENELEC JTC 21—the committee responsible for developing these standards—to finalise its work items. JTC 21 is expected to publish harmonised standards on topics including transparency, data quality, and risk management.

While standards development is typically seen as a matter of principal interest to industry and technical experts, the EU AI Act harmonised standards have implications for a wide range of stakeholders, including civil society. These standards will provide a legal presumption of conformity with the Act’s regulatory requirements, positioning them as crucial AI governance tools both within the EU and internationally. This makes civil society engagement with AI standardisation processes more vital than ever.

Co-organised by JTC 21 Task Group Inclusiveness and the AI Standards Hub, this webinar will provide a crucial opportunity for a wide range of stakeholders to learn about ongoing work within JTC 21, with a particular focus on the development of a European Norm (EN) on Risk Management. The session will discuss various efforts to broaden civil society input in the development of harmonised standards and safeguard equality and human rights considerations.

Speakers

• Dr Sebastian Hallensleben, Chair, CEN-CENELEC Joint Technical Committee 21 (JTC 21)
• Philippe Saint-Aubin, Leader of Task Group on Inclusiveness, CEN–CENELEC JTC 21 WG 1
• Dr Renaud Di Francesco, Head of Delegation of Italy for the European Standardisation of AI (JTC21), Convenor of the CEN/CENELEC/JTC21/WG2/ Task Group on Risk and Editor of the European Norm on AI risk management
• Professor Karen Yeung, Professorial Fellow in Law, Ethics and Informatics, Birmingham Law School and School of Computer Science and Head of Delegation for Equinet in CEN-CENELEC JTC 21