The 7th Annual Meeting of CEN-CENELEC was held in Krakow on 7 and 8th June 2011. This prestigious event brought together the prominent representatives of National Standard Bodies of the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and National Committees of the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC).

It was also attended by director of Armenia National Institute of Standards Mr. Yenok Azaryan. Furthermore, among participants there were also the representatives of European Commission and EFTA Secretariat, as well as delegates of other European organizations and trade associations.

The honor to host this Meeting was given to the Polish Committee for Standardization (PKN) – a Member of CEN and CENELEC. The fact that the Honorary Patronage over this event was taken by Mr. Waldemar Pawlak, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, and Mr. Jacek Majchrowski, the Mayor of the city of Krakow underlines the significance of and solemn character of this session. It has been this year’s most important event for European standardization.

Mr. Azaryan have had a number of statutory meetings where there was an opportunity to discuss key matters of cooperation with other organizations. However, the climax of the Annual Meeting was the Open Assembly of CEN-CENELEC Communities that was dedicated to innovation and its relationship with standardization. Representatives of European politics, science, industry and standardization took part in a debate during the Open Assembly. It resulted in a conclusion that the dialogue between these parties on the topics connected with innovation and standardization is fundamental and essential, and that it contributes to raising awareness and broadening knowledge that can be widely applicable in many walks of life.

Both participants and organizers found the 7^th Annual Meeting of CEN-CENELEC highly successful. Decisions taken during this meeting will have a significant effect on the future of the European Standardization System (ESS).