2025 marks the 25th anniversary of EA – and what a journey it has been. A journey paved by the unwavering commitment to placing accreditation where it belongs: as the best tool to demonstrate competence and impartiality in controls about conformity and confidence in services and products.
This journey has been shaped by the dedication of women and men working together – despite, or perhaps thanks to, their cultural differences – to harmonise their approaches and evolve with one voice, and we want to seize this opportunity to thank all of them.
While we are bound by Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, our true strength lies even beyond this regulation:
- 48 members collaborating to form a strong, non-competitive alliance;
- Over 35,000 accreditations delivered by EA Members under the EA MLA framework – an increasing number of scopes, with 44 signatories, 14 of whom have declared their intention to use the MLA mark to more clearly demonstrate the compliance of Conformity Assessment Bodies;
- Nearly 150 EU regulations and directives referencing accreditation – and increasing confidence from the European Commission, directly impacting the benefit of the European Single Market;
- 40 stakeholders working daily with EA to ensure that the European accreditation system remains credible and effective across all sectors;
- 9 people in the EA Secretariat – soon to be 10! – supporting EA Members and keeping the system running like a well-oiled machine.
But EA is not defined by numbers alone. It is built on the shared commitment of its Members to promote European Quality Infrastructure across the globe – impacting fellow regions, ILAC, and IAF along the way.
“Alone, we go fast. Together, we go further.”
Well, let’s go even further in the years to come.
