The European co-operation for Accreditation Serving the European Economy and Society

Contents What is EA? EA organizational structure EA membership EA mission The European accreditation model

EA The European co-operation for Accreditation (EA) is the Association of the national accreditation bodies that provide accreditation for the following conformity assessment activities:  Calibration  Testing (incl. medical laboratories)  Inspection  Certification of management systems  Certification of products  Certification of persons  EMAS verifiers

Origins of EA EA created as a legal entity on 26/06/2000 WEMC WECC WELAC EAL EAC EA was created in 1997 but its origins extend back further

 A not-for-profit association registered in the Netherlands in June  34 Full Members representing 33 European economies  20 Contracts of Cooperation signed with non EU/EFTA AB’s (6 ABs covered by the ENP, 5 ABs located in Europe, Russia and 8 ABs located outside Europe)  Out of these contracts, 11 have turned into a bilateral agreement with EA. General on EA

Contents What is EA? EA organizational structure EA membership EA mission The European accreditation model

EA organizational structure EA Advisory Board General Assembly Executive Committee Secretariat Multilateral Agreement Council (MAC) Horizontal Harmonisation Committee Laboratory Committee Inspection Committee Certification Committee Communications & Publications Committee

EA Chair: Graham Talbot Vice-Chair: Daniel Pierre Permanent secretariat of 4 persons:  Martine Blum, Bénédicte Ziemann & Frédérique Laudinet, EA Secretariat (Paris)  Marga Zaffe, Secretary of the MLA Council (Utrecht) EA management (1)

Executive Committee Thomas Facklam, Chair of the MAC Vagn Andersen, Chair of the CPC Merih Malmqvist Nilsson, Chair of the HHC Norbert M ü ller, Chair of the IC Leopoldo Cortez, Chair of the CC Christina Waddington, Chair of the LC Additional members: Rózsa Ring, Biserka Bajzek Brezak, Hanspeter Ischi, Jan van der Poel EA management (2)

Contents What is EA? EA organizational structure EA membership EA mission The European accreditation model

 Full members (nationally recognised AB in a country of being MS of EEA and EFTA, or candidate country) 34 Full Members representing 33 European economies  Contracts of Cooperation (non EU/EFTA AB’s) 20 signed (6 ABs covered by the ENP, 5 ABs located in Europe, Russia and 8 ABs located outside Europe)  Observers 47 organisations (e.g. ILAC, IAF, APLAC, IAAC, EFTA, EC/DG, CEN, ISO, EURACHEM, EURAMET, WELMEC, EUROLAB, CEOC, IIOC) Membership

Environnemental management systems certification Calibration ; testing ; products, quality management systems and persons certification Calibration ; testing ; products and quality management systems certification; inspection Calibration ; testing Calibration ; testing ; products, quality management systems and persons certification ; inspection Full members non signatories Calibration; testing; products and quality management systems certification Persons and quality management system certification EA & MLA Members November 2009 Contracts of Cooperation (European countries)

Contents What is EA? EA organizational structure EA membership EA mission The European accreditation model

Objectives of EA (1)  To serve as a cooperative network of its Members for the furtherance of a coherent European accreditation system  To harmonise and build consistency in accreditation as a public authority activity to support European trade and industry according to its needs and to the requirements laid down in applicable European Regulations  To establish and maintain criteria and procedures for peer evaluation activities

Objectives of EA (2)  To evaluate the compliance of national accreditation bodies with the requirements of applicable European Regulations, relevant harmonized standards and other criteria as applicable and agreed by the association  To consolidate and strengthen the multilateral agreement based on the peer evaluation activities on mutual recognition of the accreditation activities operated by EA Members and to promote the international acceptance of this agreement  To promote the establishment of agreements on mutual recognition of accreditation activities at the international level

Objectives of EA (3)  To promote confidence in the European infrastructure, competence and services in calibration, certification, inspection, testing and other activities covered by EA  To be a resource on technical matters and contribute to the development, maintenance and implementation of accreditation in the EU, and internationally  To be the body recognised by the European Commission as the European accreditation infrastructure.

The main activities of EA (1)  Operation and management of the peer evaluation system  Development of accreditation services and harmonization of accreditation practices The technical work of EA is divided into 5 committees each responsible for a specific field; the purpose of the technical work is to assure that the accreditation activities covered by the scope of the EA MLA meets the needs of the market place and accreditation activities covered by the EA MLA are performed by the national accreditation bodies in a harmonized manner.

The main activities of EA (2)  Cooperation with European Commission, EFTA and Competent National Authorities The purpose of cooperation is to ensure that the strategic and political developments in EA are in line with the policy of the EU Commission, EFTA and Competent National Authorities; the cooperation will also include development of new services supporting the implementation of Community and national legislation. The formal forum for meetings is the European Commission’s Senior Officials Group on Standards and Conformity Assessment Policy (SOGS); bilateral meetings between the parties may also be arranged for discussion of specific issues.

The main activities of EA (3)  Cooperation with stakeholders and other interested parties It is important to ensure that the market place has confidence in accredited conformity assessment services. The main forum for involvement of stakeholders in accreditation issues is the EA Advisory Board. EA ensures that stakeholders and other interested parties are effectively involved in any discussion of strategic and political importance for the development of EA.  Cooperation with third countries EA adopted a policy for its relationship with ABs of countries not being Members of the EU or EFTA given priority to establish relations with ABs from countries being part of the EU Neighbourhood Policy and potential candidates for EU membership through offering them Associate Membership.

The main activities of EA (4)  Cooperation with international organisations EA operates as a Recognised Region of ILAC and IAF and manages its peer evaluation system to qualify EA members to be signatories to the global Mutual Recognition Agreements. EA and its members are working actively in both associations with the purpose of ensuring that the European accreditation system is recognised at the global level and that the development of the international accreditation system as far as possible is in line with the accreditation policy adopted and implemented in Europe.  Management of EA  EA Secretariat

The main activities of EA (5) Work Programme for 2010  the management of a rigorous peer evaluation system operated on the basis of sound and transparent evaluation criteria and procedures  the activities of the secretariat of the official European accreditation infrastructure, such as the coordination of accreditation related activities, the processing of technical work linked to the operation of the peer evaluation system, the provision of information to interested, and the participation of EA in the activities of international organisations in the field of accreditation  drawing up and updating contributions to guidelines in the field of accreditation  the performance of preliminary or ancillary work in connection with the implementation of accreditation activities linked to the implementation of Community legislation, such as studies, programmes, evaluations, guidelines, comparative analysis, mutual joint visits, research work, the development and maintenance of databases, training activities, laboratory work, proficiency testing, inter-laboratory tests and conformity assessment work  activities carried out under programmes of technical assistance, cooperation with third countries and the promotion and enhancement of the European accreditation policy

Contents What is EA? EA organizational structure EA membership EA mission The European accreditation model

The European Accreditation model (1) on accreditation and market surveillance Effective from 1 January 2010

The European Accreditation model (2) National accreditation  Accreditation is a service of general interest  Public authority  Last level of control of CA services  Voluntary & mandatory fields  Mandate of the Government  Full compliance with applicable rules  Accountability to stakeholders  No predominance of any single interest group  Non-profit distributing  Non competition

765/2008 &EA  The European legislation on accreditation and market surveillance  Legal basis for accreditation and EA  Strengthening use of accreditation and the EA MLA as a basis for notification  Recognising EA as the European Accreditation Infrastructure

Development of EA The EA Development Strategy  Prepare for the new role  Reconsider, improve organisation and structure  Increase resources  Reinforce relations with all stakeholders  Reinforce cooperation with AB’s of the European Neighbouring Policy (ENP)  Reinforce influence in ILAC and IAF

The European Accreditation model (3) On 1 April 2009, EA signed the General Guidelines for the Cooperation between EA, EC, EFTA, and Competent National Authorities. These Guidelines establish a common understanding of the importance of accreditation for the European economy and life of European citizens and of its supporting role for several European policies and legislation reflecting public interest, notably in the implementation of Community harmonisation legislation.

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