certification of conformity — the activity whereby the conformity of a product or service to given standards or other technical specifications is certified by means of a certificate or mark of conformity 12.

common technical specification — a technical specification drawn up with a view to uniform application in all the Member States of the Community 2.

Draft International Standard (DIS) — a draft standard adopted by a recognized international standards body 5.

European pre-standard — a standard adopted under the reference (EPS) in accordance with the statutory rules of the standards bodies with which the Community has concluded agreements 8.

European standard — a standard which has been approved pursuant to the statutes of the standards bodies with which the Community has concluded agreements 7.

functional standard — a standard worked out to yield a complex function required to ensure systems interoperability and generally obtained by the linking together of several existing reference standards and adopted in accordance with the statutory rules of standards bodies 9.

information technology — the systems, equipment, components and software required to ensure the retrieval, processing and storage of information in all centres of human activity (home, office, factory, etc.), the application of which generally requires the use of electronics or similar technology 13.

international standard — a standard adopted by a recognized international standards body 4.

international technical specification in telecommunications — the technical specification of all or some characteristics of a product, recommended by such organizations as the Comité international télégraphique et téléphonique (CCITT) or the CEPT 6.

public procurement orders — those: defined in Article 1 of Directive 77/62/EEC (1); concluded for the supply of equipment relating to information technology and telecommunications, irrespective of the sector of activity of the contracting authority 14.

standard — a technical specification approved by a recognized standards body for repeated or continuous application, compliance with which is not compulsory 3.

technical regulation — the technical specifications, including the relevant administrative provisions, the observance of which is compulsory, de jure or de facto, in the case of marketing or use in a Member State or a major part thereof, except those laid down by local authorities 11.

technical specifications — a specification contained in a document which lays down the characteristics required of a product, such as levels of quality, performance, safety or dimensions, including the requirements applicable to the product as regards terminology, symbols, testing and test methods, packaging, marking or labelling 1.

telecommunications authorities — recognized authorities or private enterprises in the Community which provide public telecommunications services 15.