The 53^rd European co-operation for Accreditation (EA) General Assembly (GA) on 24^th-25^th May 2023 took place in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

The General Assembly gathered around 90 participants from 45 National Accreditation Bodies (NABs), the EU Commission, Recognized Stakeholders, and the EA Advisory Board.

Disbanding of the Communications and Publications Committee and setting up of a Communications Network
The General Assembly officially disbanded the Communications Professionals Committee and created the Communications Network, a place for Communications professionals to exchange about good practices and face together upcoming challenges. EA Members are welcome to comment on the Terms of Reference of the future Communications Networks and the Rules of Procedures before the 5 of June 2023.

San Marino Accreditation Service is a new EA Member
San Marino Accreditation Service (SMAS), the National Accreditation Body of San Marino, fulfills the requirement set out in EA-1/17 S1 Criteria for Membership. SMAS becomes a new EA Member. EA is now counting 49 members.

Biobanking
Peer evaluations in the field of biobanking against EN ISO 20387:2018 – Biotechnology — Biobanking shall be performed according to the document “Procedure for launching the EA MLA for accreditation of Biobanking according to EN ISO 20387”. The MLA shall come into effect provided that at least two members have been successfully peer-evaluated. EA applies to ILAC to extend the scope of EA as a recognized region for the scope “Biobanking – ISO 20387.

Closure of the EA/JRC project on Breast Cancer Services
EA and JRC finalized their cooperation regarding the creation of the European guidelines on breast cancer screening and diagnosis. The guidelines present the latest evidence available in the form of recommendations and good practice statements intended to optimize patient care. These are developed starting from relevant ‘healthcare questions’ that are grouped into main topics and presented in a question-and-answer format.

Approval of the Memorandum of Understanding on the European Quality Infrastructure
The General Assembly approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between CEN, CENELEC, EA, EURAMET, and WELMEC on the creation and implementation of the European Quality Infrastructure. The purpose of this MoU is to create the European Ql Network, a partnership of regional quality infrastructure organizations that collaborate to strengthen the Quality Infrastructure in Europe.

The next General Assembly will take place on 22-23 November 2023, in Dublin, Ireland.

The endorsed resolutions of the 53^rd General Assembly are available here.