The purpose of these liaisons is to ensure that EAN/UCC standards are endorsed by these bodies and gain full international recognition.

CEN
CEN is the European Committee for standardisation and its members are the 15 European Union and 4 EFTA countries. In 1990, CEN created a technical committee on bar coding called TC 225. The work of CEN TC 225 is organised into four different areas, each addressed by specific working groups. EAN International and the majority of European Numbering Organisations take part in this process at all levels. 

International Standards Organisation (ISO)
EAN takes part in the work of two ISO technical committees, ISO/TC 122/WG4 on Packaging and ISO/IEC/JTC1/SC31 on automatic data capture. 

UN/EDIFACT
EAN, through the GCC (Global Communications Committee), liaisons with all levels of the UN/EDIFACT organisation. The objective is to exert an EAN influence on the EDIFACT development process. 

AIM

AIM is a world-wide trade association for ADC (automatic data capture) equipment and service providers. EAN liaisons with AIM International and AIM Europe at an international level. Furthermore, Numbering Organisations and national AIM offices in many countries enjoy a close co-operation. The purpose of these contacts is to ensure that the Numbering Organisations and their member companies are aware of developments in the field of automatic identification and that the products supplied by AIM members support and meet the requirements of EAN/UCC standards. 

International User Groups, official bodies
EAN collaborates with a number of international user groups from various industries (i.e. health care, publishing, transport, packaging, footwear, textiles, etc.) on particular projects and on an on-going basis. In addition, the interests of EAN International and the Numbering Organisations are represented at meetings with official bodies such as the European Commission, the United Nations as well as other associations and institutions. 

ECR

Efficient Consumer Response, a business concept launched in the USA, promotes collaboration between suppliers and retailers with the aim of cutting costs from the supply chain and delivering a better end product and service to consumers. An ECR initiative started in Europe in 1994 and an ECR Executive Board was formed to promote the implementation of ECR across the European grocery industry. EAN participates in the European ECR Executive Board and provides technical and secretariat support to the EDI project within ECR Europe.