Sophia Antipolis, France, 11 February 2026
Under Martin Chatel’s leadership as Chief Policy Officer, ETSI has strived to set a new dynamic to its partnership with the European Commission and the European Free Trade Association. It launched its new Policy Task Force and teamed up with ETSI’s members and governing bodies to steer policy debates (here), and position standardisation as an exciting and tactical tool for Europe rather than a purely technical field.
The department has also embraced a global approach, building on ETSI’s dual role as a European Standardisation Organisation and a globally recognised Standards Development Organisation driving standardisation for digital technologies like mobile networks, consumer IoT security, smart cards, e-signatures, cybersecurity, data governance, eAccessibility, artificial intelligence and quantum technologies.
In 2025, this translated into ETSI being referenced in the Quantum Europe Strategy and an alignment of efforts with the Commission’s Executive Vice-President Ms. Henna Virkkunen, as well as six impactful missions in India, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Brazil, China and the United States, helping ensure that digital standards retain strong global relevance. The Department contributed to international projects like SESEI, SESEC, GIST and InDiCo-Global, with a focus on ensuring worldwide adoption of ETSI standards.
With 13 Partnership Agreements formalised in 2025, including with the Telecommunication Technology Association of South Korea, the European Communications Office and the European Patent Office, ETSI sustains its CEPT roots, fosters open competition and responsible IP practices, and ensures that innovation remains accessible, sustainable and fair. In November 2025, ETSI–TTA cooperation, and 3GPP, were recognised by the EU-ROK Digital Partnership Council as drivers of global standardisation, shaping standards for emerging digital technologies (here).
As we move into 2026, the ETSI policy development focus will be on:
- Improve European standardisation workflows by working with the Commission and EFTA to reduce citation delays, streamline Standardisation Requests (via the GoSR), and digitalise tools.
- Refine partnerships and cooperation to strengthen global standards alignment, leveraging ETSI deliverables in key digital domains.
- Leverage ETSI as a platform for technical alignment within Trade Agreements, Digital Dialogues and Partnerships (e.g., in Japan, Korea, Singapore, India, Brazil, China, the US and Canada).
- Increase ETSI’s global impact through SESEI VI (2024–2027), Indico-Global (2024–2026), and GIST (2025–2028), notably in Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Western Balkans, the Middle East, and Africa.
The journey has just begun. Stay Tuned!
