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Harmonised standard

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A European standard adopted on a Commission standardisation request. Under the AI Act, conformity with one whose reference is published in the Official Journal gives a presumption of conformity with the requirements it covers; publication by CEN-CENELEC alone does not 1. As of 2026-09-24, none is yet cited 2.

Developed in
ch. 22, How presumption of conformity works
Chapters
ch. 08, Regulatory Map · ch. 22, Principles & Standards
Contrast with
Common specifications · Harmonized Structure (ISO)
Source
2 numbered references, listed below

Where it is used

12 chapters of the Body of Knowledge use the term. Each link opens the first section that does.

Harmonised standard: mentions per chapter29 mentions of the term across 12 of the 23 chapters of the Body of Knowledge; the chapters the glossary cross-references are drawn solid.Cross-referenced chapterOther chapter00 Preface: 1 mention00 Preface102 Why Now: 3 mentions02 Why Now304 The Stack: 1 mention04 The Stack105 Patterns: 1 mention05 Patterns107 Maturity Model: 1 mention07 Maturity Model108 Regulatory Map: 8 mentions08 Regulatory Map810 Reading List: 1 mention10 Reading List113 Risk Management: 1 mention13 Risk Management114 Development: 3 mentions14 Development316 Fairness & XAI: 1 mention16 Fairness & XAI118 EU AI Act: 3 mentions18 EU AI Act322 Principles & Standards: 5 mentions22 Principles & Standards5No mentions in the other 11 chaptersSource: the Body of Knowledgev0.5.0
Harmonised standard: mentions per chapter29 mentions of the term across 12 of the 23 chapters of the Body of Knowledge; the chapters the glossary cross-references are drawn solid.Cross-referenced chapterOther chapter00 Preface: 1 mention1000102 Why Now: 3 mentions3020304 The Stack: 1 mention10405 Patterns: 1 mention1050607 Maturity Model: 1 mention10708 Regulatory Map: 8 mentions80810 Reading List: 1 mention110111213 Risk Management: 1 mention11314 Development: 3 mentions3141516 Fairness & XAI: 1 mention1161718 EU AI Act: 3 mentions31819202122 Principles & Standards: 5 mentions52223Source: the Body of Knowledge v0.5.0
Mentions per chapter How often each chapter names the term, with the chapters the glossary cross-references drawn solid. The longest bar is where to read the term in use; bars spread across many chapters mark a term that runs through the discipline.
Mentions as a table
Mentions of Harmonised standard per chapter
ChapterMentionsCross-referenced
00 Preface1No
01 Definition0No
02 Why Now3No
03 Values & Principles0No
04 The Stack1No
05 Patterns1No
06 The Role0No
07 Maturity Model1No
08 Regulatory Map8Yes
10 Reading List1No
11 AI Defined0No
12 Governance Program0No
13 Risk Management1No
14 Development3No
15 Deployment0No
16 Fairness & XAI1No
17 Incidents0No
18 EU AI Act3No
19 Privacy & AI0No
20 Existing Law0No
21 AI Laws Worldwide0No
22 Principles & Standards5Yes
23 AI Agents0No
Harmonised standard: related terms and patternsThe term at the centre; related terms on solid edges, the terms it is contrasted with on dashed edges, and the patterns that use it most in the colour of their layer.RelatedContrastHarmonised standardRelated terms (5)AI Act (EU) · RelatedAI Act (EU)CEN-CENELEC JTC 21 · RelatedCEN-CENELEC JTC 21GPAI Code of Practice · RelatedGPAI Code of PracticeISO/IEC 42001 · RelatedISO/IEC 42001Presumption of conformity · RelatedPresumption of conformityContrast with (2)Common specifications · ContrastCommon specificationsHarmonized Structure (ISO) · ContrastHarmonized Structure (ISO)
Harmonised standard: related terms and patternsThe term at the centre; related terms on solid edges, the terms it is contrasted with on dashed edges, and the patterns that use it most in the colour of their layer.RelatedContrastRelated terms (5)AI Act (EU) · RelatedAI Act (EU)CEN-CENELEC JTC 21 · RelatedCEN-CENELEC JTC 21GPAI Code of Practice · RelatedGPAI Code of PracticeISO/IEC 42001 · RelatedISO/IEC 42001Presumption of conformity · RelatedPresumption of conformityContrast with (2)Common specifications · ContrastCommon specificationsHarmonized Structure (ISO) · ContrastHarmonized Structure (ISO)Harmonisedstandard
The term's neighbourhood Terms related to this one on solid edges, terms it is often confused with on dashed edges, and the patterns that use it most in the colour of their layer. Follow a dashed edge to check the distinction before you use either term.
Neighbourhood as a table
Neighbourhood of Harmonised standard
FamilyItemRelation
Related termsAI Act (EU)Related
Related termsCEN-CENELEC JTC 21Related
Related termsGPAI Code of PracticeRelated
Related termsISO/IEC 42001Related
Related termsPresumption of conformityRelated
Contrast withCommon specificationsContrast
Contrast withHarmonized Structure (ISO)Contrast
  • Presumption of conformity

    The legal effect under AI Act Article 40: a high-risk system or GPAI model that conforms with OJ-cited harmonised standards is presumed to meet the…

  • GPAI Code of Practice

    The voluntary instrument (published 10 July 2025) that general-purpose-AI providers use to demonstrate compliance with their AI Act obligations until…

  • CEN-CENELEC JTC 21

    The joint technical committee of the European standardisation organisations CEN and CENELEC that drafts the AI Act harmonised standards, including EN 18286 on…

  • ISO/IEC 42001

    The ISO/IEC standard (2023) that specifies requirements for an AI management system, certifiable by accredited bodies.

  • AI Act (EU)

    Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, the EU's horizontal, risk-tiered law for AI, amended by the Digital Omnibus.

Sources

  1. [1] Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act), consolidated text as amended by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (Digital Omnibus on AI, in force 27 Jul 2026; definitions in Art. 3, incl. 3(1), 3(3) to 3(14), 3(14b), 3(20), 3(22), 3(23), 3(29) to 3(32), 3(49), 3(55) to 3(57), 3(60), 3(61), 3(63), 3(68); Arts. 4, 5, 6 (incl. 6(3) third subparagraph, profiling), 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 22 to 27 (incl. 26(11)), 40, 41, 43, 47, 48, 50, 53 (incl. 53(1)(c)), 55, 57, 60, 72, 73, 86; Annexes I, III, IV). Publications Office of the EU (EUR-Lex). 2026-07-27. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1689/2026-07-27/eng (verified: primary)
  2. [2] Standardisation of the AI Act (no harmonised standard yet referenced in the Official Journal, so no presumption of conformity from any standard, ISO/IEC 42001 included; page last updated 2026-08-03; none found in the Publications Office index on 2026-09-24). European Commission. 2026-08-03. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/ai-act-standardisation (verified: primary)

Definitions of legal terms paraphrase the cited text, which governs. Dated statements are as of .

Cite this term

García Aibar, J. (2026). Harmonised standard. In AI Governance Engineering: The Thesis & Body of Knowledge (v0.5.0), Glossary. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22956197. https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/harmonised-standard. CC BY 4.0

BibTeX

@misc{aige2026harmonisedstandard,
  author  = {Jorge García Aibar},
  title   = {{Harmonised standard}},
  note    = {Glossary, AI Governance Engineering: The Thesis \& Body of Knowledge, version 0.5.0},
  year    = {2026},
  doi     = {10.5281/zenodo.22956197},
  url     = {https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/harmonised-standard}
}