Both businesses and consumers wish to rely on the fact that the products are safe. In the internal market it is the role of
conformity assessment bodies to testify the safety of products before these can be marketed across borders (such as testing
and certification laboratories, certification, inspection bodies etc.). The quality of these conformity assessment services will
significantly be upgraded, as accreditation was introduced under the reform for the EU internal market for goods adopted in
2008. Accreditation should ensure that conformity assessment bodies provide high quality services. It is protected from
becoming a commercial activity and must fulfil the following requirements set out in Regulation 765/2008:
- To have only one accreditation body per Member State
- No competition between accreditation bodies and between accreditation bodies and conformity assessment bodies
- Accreditation is a public authority activity
- The accreditation bodies are non-profit, impartial and objective
- Accountability towards interested parties
- Fostering the use of accreditation in the mandatory area, without making it obligatory.
With the signature of the General Guidelines for cooperation between the European co-operation for Accreditation (EA) and
the European Commission, the European Free Trade Association and the competent national authorities, a concrete step
was taken towards a successful implementation of the new requirements on 1st of April 2009.
Accreditation is a fundamental and important activity for the internal market as it provides for the needed confidence in
conformity assessment services. It facilitates the free circulation of products and service, and contributes to eliminate
technical barriers to trade by supporting the European Economy and its competitiveness.
With the strengthening of accreditation, Europe is setting a new role model for the rest of the world. The signature of the Guidelines represents a historic moment in this context after 25 years of development of our policy in this field.
