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Although established in early 1990, the Standards Board gained particular importance after Estonia regained its independence in 1991. The main task of the Board was to coordinate standardisation, metrology and accreditation in Estonia.
The early years
One of the first tasks of the newly established organisation was to acquire the first European and international standards for its library. By 1993, the first 48 Estonian standards had been published.
In those years, standardisation activities gradually transitioned from a centrally mandated system to a voluntary, market-oriented approach aligned with European and international practices. This transition took time, dedication, and extensive cooperation at home and abroad. However, Estonia had a good opportunity to learn from the experiences of its European colleagues.
In addition to the Baltic and Polish organisations, one of the first standards organisations with which cooperation was established was the Finnish Standards Association.
Other Nordic countries – such as the standardisation organisations of Sweden, Denmark and Iceland – also supported the Baltic states in carrying out this reorganisation.
Desire to join the European Union
In 1994, European experts met with the Standards Board. The focus was on assessing the alignment of Estonia’s standardisation, certification, and metrology systems with those of EU member states.
The meeting also outlined future cooperation and potential EU-supported projects aimed at strengthening these systems.
First, it meant becoming a full member of CEN and CENELEC🡭. However, membership could only be achieved when 80% of European standards had been adopted in Estonia as well.
The Estonian Centre for Standardisation is established
At the end of the decade, the Standards Board was to be divided into two organisations. One of them being the Estonian Centre for Standardisation (EVS), established as a non-profit organisation.
The first year of operation was already considered a record year. In 2001, the number of Estonian standards exceeded 6,000. The required 80% for CEN membership was also achieved in that year. Shortly after, the threshold required for CENELEC membership was also reached.
In 2004, EVS became a full member of CEN and CENELEC. The new standardisation system, aligned with European practices, made access to the single market🡭 possible.