The European Union has high demands in terms of information security, the rights of the individual and is now also setting a very ambitious way forward with several European "data spaces", with the European Health Data Space as one of the first and significant, with fierce expectations regarding content and timing, including both primary and secondary use. The EU Commission seems to pursue a somewhat independent and self-determining approach, where Denmark from a standards perspective seeks influence in several ways, together with CEN TC 251, through EU projects and via related institutions, authorities, and fora, including regarding the text of the proposal. European interests, legislation and standards should complement each other, as with European harmonized standards, and where such standards (from Standard Development Organizations) rely on structured methodology, involvement, and voting, resulting in higher quality and democratic legitimacy.