Due to the growing concerns on the global outbreak of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), EA has decided to cancel its March and April 2020 physical meetings in order to protect all the participants, and limit as much as possible the impact on the business of our members, and to avoid spreading of the virus.

This pandemic has challenged EA in the organisation of its meetings, leading even the big Committees to experiment new ways of working and discussing.

The Horizontal Harmonization Committee (HHC) decided to use the EA forum, launched in September 2019, to exchange and finalise draft versions for new and revised documents, such as:

  • EA-3/01: Supplement to EA-3/01 – Rules on the use of the EA MLA Mark
  • List of Risks
  • Consultancy, and the Independence of Conformity Assessment Bodies
  • EA-2/17: EA Document on Accreditation for Notification Purposes
  • EA-1/22: EA Procedure and Criteria for the Evaluation of Conformity Assessment Schemes by EA Accreditation Body Members

The period for comments and suggestions was limited to two days, the same period as the HHC meeting would have been hold, and the topics, on the evening of the second day were closed by the EA HHC Chair Gabriel Zrenner, giving the final output of the discussions and the follow-up actions.

The Inspection Committee (IC) organised a one-day web meeting to exchange on all the ordinary items of its March agenda:

  • Database for EA IC Frequently Asked Questions
  • Application of ISO/IEC 17020 in the field of crime scene investigation (CSI)
  • EA-5/02 EA Guidance on the Application of ISO/IEC 17020 in Periodic Inspection of the Roadworthiness of Motor Vehicles and their Trailers
  • Liaison with EA Recognized Stakeholders (DG Environment, European Union Agency for Railways (ERA)

Further meetings will be organised remotely in the coming weeks, in order to ensure the continuity of EA activities.

 

Coronavirus and the assessment of Conformity Assessment Bodies

The outbreak of the coronavirus has a significant impact on the assessment of Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs).

Many EA National Accreditation Bodies have published general information about the coronavirus and its impact on forthcoming assessments on their websites. For specific information, the CABs are requested to contact their NABs directly.