On 25 March 2025, ETSI held its 85th General Assembly, during which several important decisions were made regarding the organisation’s future direction. Even more important than the formal meeting itself were the side discussions held by the GA leadership with key individuals about the future of the European standardisation system.

A clear takeaway from these conversations is that the collaboration between ETSI and the European Commission is once again functioning very well. This is the result of the dedicated work that both Bettina and Magnus have carried out over the past two years in their respective roles within the GA leadership. The appointment of Jan Ellsberger as ETSI’s Director General, and his actions since taking office, have also had a positive impact on the relationship with the Commission.

This renewed dialogue creates space to focus on other areas of improvement within ETSI. As a result, it was decided that an extraordinary GA meeting will be held on 4 September to discuss clarifications to ETSI’s structure, as well as the potential establishment of a new working group tasked with reviewing specific aspects of the ETSI directives.

We encourage all ITS members to already save the date for the pre-GA meeting on 28 August, from 10:00 to 11:00.