The 56th EA General Assembly occurred on 20-21 November 2024 in Estoril, Portugal. The General Assembly gathered 88 participants from 46 National Accreditation Bodies (NABs), the European Commission, EFTA, and Recognized Stakeholders.

Suspension of JAS-AU membership in EA
The General Assembly, acting upon the recommendation of the Executive Board, decides with immediate effect and in accordance with Article 6 of the Articles of Association and paragraph 4 of EA-1/17 Supplement 5 – Levying of Membership Fees to terminate the membership of JAS-AU in EA because the membership fee 2024 has not been paid.

Election of a FOC member
The General Assembly elects Matt Gantley (UKAS, the UK NAB) as a member of the Financial Oversight Committee for 2025.

Farewell!
The General Assembly paid a glowing tribute to Roeland Nieuweboer (RvA, the Dutch NAB), a member of the Executive Board since January 2021, Gabriel Zrenner (DAkkS, the German NAB) chair of the Horizontal Harmonization Committee since January 2018, and Konrad Flück (SAS, the Swiss NAB) a member of the Financial Oversight Committee since January 2022.

Transparency in the election of EA officers
The General Assembly hereby resolves that going forward, the number of votes, and the total votes cast in favour, against, or abstaining in the election of EA officers, shall be disclosed to the General Assembly.

Implementation of new EU legislations and schemes
The General Assembly agrees that the Technical Committees shall define the content of scopes of accreditation for each new EU legislation.

The defined scopes of accreditation shall be deemed first as best practice. The Technical Management Board (TMB) shall evaluate after 2 years whether better harmonization of the content of accreditation scopes could be achieved. In case no progress has been made, the TMB shall propose further actions.

European Quality Assurance Scheme for Breast Cancer Services
The General Assembly, acting upon the recommendation of the Technical Management Board, endorses the mandatory application of the following document, issued by the European Commission / Joint Research Centre: European Quality Assurance Scheme for Breast Cancer Services; Version 1 September 2024.

This scheme shall be applied for the accreditation of Conformity Assessment Bodies under the European Commission Initiative on Breast Cancer.

Transitional arrangement for the revision of ISO 55001 “Asset management — Asset management system — Requirements”
The General Assembly, acting on the recommendation of the Certification Committee, resolves that the transitional arrangement for the revision of ISO 55001 “Asset management — Asset management system — Requirements” be three years from the last day of the month of publication of the revised standard (31 July 2027). All ISO 55001:2014 certifications shall expire or be withdrawn at the end of the transition period.

Within this transition timeline:

  • ABs shall be ready to carry out transition assessments for ISO 55001:2024 within 18 months from the last day of the month of the revised standard publication (31 January 2026).
  • CABs shall complete the transition with NABs for ISO 55001:2024 within 24 months from the last day of the month of the revised standard publication (31 July 2026).
  • CABs shall cease conducting initial and recertification audits to ISO 55001:2014 24 months from the last day of the month of publication of the revised standard (31 July 2026).
  • CABs shall have completed all transitions of certified clients 36 months from the last day of the month of the revised standard publication (31 July 2027).

Adoption of IAF documents
The General Assembly adopts the following IAF resolutions adopted at the IAF 38th Annual General Assembly on 8 and 10 October 2024, as applicable to EA and its members:

  • IAF Resolution 2024-18 – Use of ISO/IEC 17029 in Accreditation
  • IAF Resolution 2024-19 – Non-accredited Validation and Verification, where the VVB is Accredited for the Same Scope

 

To download the full list of resolutions, click here.

The next General Assembly will be held on the 21st-22nd of May 2025, in Türkiye.