(121) Standardisation should play a key role to provide technical solutions to providers to ensure compliance with this Regulation, in line with the state of the art, to promote innovation as well as competitiveness and growth in the single market. Compliance with harmonised standards as defined in Article 2, point (1)(c), of Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council ^{41Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on European standardisation, amending Council Directives 89/686/EEC and 93/15/EEC and Directives 94/9/EC, 94/25/EC, 95/16/EC, 97/23/EC, 98/34/EC, 2004/22/EC, 2007/23/EC, 2009/23/EC and 2009/105/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Decision 87/95/EEC and Decision No 1673/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council ([OJ L 316, 14.11.2012, p. 12](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/AUTO/?uri=OJ:L:2012:316:TOC)).}, which are normally expected to reflect the state of the art, should be a means for providers to demonstrate conformity with the requirements of this Regulation. A balanced representation of interests involving all relevant stakeholders in the development of standards, in particular SMEs, consumer organisations and environmental and social stakeholders in accordance with Articles 5 and 6 of Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 should therefore be encouraged. In order to facilitate compliance, the standardisation requests should be issued by the Commission without undue delay. When preparing the standardisation request, the Commission should consult the advisory forum and the Board in order to collect relevant expertise. However, in the absence of relevant references to harmonised standards, the Commission should be able to establish, via implementing acts, and after consultation of the advisory forum, common specifications for certain requirements under this Regulation. The common specificationcommon specificationmeans a set of technical specifications as defined in Article 2, point (4) of Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012, providing means to comply with certain requirements established under this RegulationArticle 3(28) should be an exceptional fall back solution to facilitate the providerprovidermeans a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body that develops an AI system or a general-purpose AI model or that has an AI system or a general-purpose AI model developed and places it on the market or puts the AI system into service under its own name or trademark, whether for payment or free of chargeArticle 3(3)’s obligation to comply with the requirements of this Regulation, when the standardisation request has not been accepted by any of the European standardisation organisations, or when the relevant harmonised standards insufficiently address fundamental rightsfundamental rightsIncludes human dignity, right to life, prohibition of torture, protection of personal datapersonal dataAny information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person ('data subjectsubjectfor the purpose of real-world testing, means a natural person who participates in testing in real-world conditionsArticle 3(58)data subjectsubjectfor the purpose of real-world testing, means a natural person who participates in testing in real-world conditionsArticle 3(58)An identified or identifiable natural person to whom personal data relateGDPR Art. 4(1)'). Includes name, ID number, location data, online identifiers, or factors specific to physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identityGDPR Art. 4(1), freedom of expression, non-discrimination, equality between women and men, rights of the child, right to an effective remedy and fair trialCharter of Fundamental Rights Art. 1–54 concerns, or when the harmonised standards do not comply with the request, or when there are delays in the adoption of an appropriate harmonised standardharmonised standardA European standard adopted on the basis of a request made by the Commission for the application of Union harmonisation legislationRegulation (EU) 1025/2012 Art. 2(1)(c). Where such a delay in the adoption of a harmonised standardharmonised standardA European standard adopted on the basis of a request made by the Commission for the application of Union harmonisation legislationRegulation (EU) 1025/2012 Art. 2(1)(c) is due to the technical complexity of that standard, this should be considered by the Commission before contemplating the establishment of common specifications. When developing common specifications, the Commission is encouraged to cooperate with international partners and international standardisation bodies.