The EA MLA is recognized at international level by Global Accreditation Cooperation Incorporated (Global ACI), the global associations of Accreditation Bodies.
It means that accreditation by one of the EA MLA Members is considered to give as much confidence as accreditation delivered by any signatory to the Global ACI mutual agreement.
Accredited once, accepted everywhere!
It means that a test report or certificate issued by an accredited CAB can be recognized by the signatories to the Global ACI multilateral agreement. In this way, the EA MLA acts as an international passport to trade.
Thanks to this mutual recognition:
- international markets have confidence in the EA MLA and the conformity assessment results provided by organizations accredited by EA MLA signatories;
- there is no need for products and services to be re-tested, re-calibrated, re-inspected or re-certified in each country into which they are imported and sold;
- it helps free movement of goods and services at European and global levels.
Presentation of Global ACI
Global Accreditation Cooperation Incorporated (Global ACI) is the world association of National Accreditation Bodies (NAB) interested in conformity assessment in the fields of Global Accreditation Cooperation Incorporated (Global ACI) is the international authority on the accreditation of laboratories, certification bodies, inspection bodies, proficiency testing providers, validation/verification bodies, reference material producers, and biobanks.
Global ACI’s purpose is to
- Establish an international arrangement between member accreditation bodies based on peer evaluation and mutual acceptance, which reduces risk to businesses and their customers by ensuring that an accredited certificate may be relied upon anywhere in the world.
- Define criteria and normative documents to achieve consistency and effective accreditation of conformity assessment bodies by Global ACI members.
Currently there are eleven scopes in the Global ACI MRA:
- Testing laboratories (using ISO/IEC 17025)
- Calibration laboratories (using ISO/IEC 17025)
- Inspection bodies (using ISO/IEC 17020)
- Management system certification bodies (using ISO/IEC 17021-1)
- Product certification bodies (using ISO/IEC 17065)
- Medical testing laboratories (using ISO 15189)
- Proficiency testing providers (using ISO/IEC 17043)
- Persons certification bodies (using ISO/IEC 17024)
- Validation/verification bodies (using ISO/IEC 17029)
- Reference material producers (using ISO 17034)
- Biobanking facilities (using ISO 20387)
As of January 2026, the Global ACI Members are
6 Recognized Regional Accreditation Groups:
126 Full Members (Accreditation Body Members), 14 Associate Members, and 49 Stakeholders Members
For further details, visit the Global ACI website.
Peer evaluation of EA
As a Recognized Regional Accreditation Group, EA is peer evaluated every four years, according to a process similar to that used for the evaluation of a single National Accreditation Body (NAB). The objective is to confirm that EA criteria and procedures for membership and MLA peer- evaluation meet Global ACI requirements.
EA is a Regional Cooperation Body Member of Global ACI for Europe.
Global ACI MRA
- Testing laboratories – ISO/IEC 17025;
- Calibration laboratories – ISO/IEC 17025;
- Inspection bodies – ISO/IEC 17020);
- Management system certification bodies – ISO/IEC 17021-1;
- Product certification bodies – ISO/IEC 17065;
- Medical testing laboratories – ISO 15189;
- Proficiency testing providers – ISO/IEC 17043;
- Persons certification bodies – ISO/IEC 17024;
- Validation/verification bodies – ISO/IEC 17029;
- Reference material producers – ISO 17034.
Part of the global network
EA is a Recognized Regional Accreditation Group for the following scopes:
In addition to the discussions at international level, EA maintains close relationships with the other regions of the world. Having all regions speaking with “One voice” would strengthen Global ACI.
The objective is also to promote the values and benefits of the European accreditation model.
For Africa
SADCA
(Southern African Development
Community in Accreditation)
Calibration, Testing, Proficiency Testing Providers, and Reference Materials Producers and Management System Certification Bodies
AFRAC
(African Accreditation Cooperation)
Testing, Calibration, Medical examinations, Inspection, Product and Management System Certification, Proficiency Testing Providers, and Reference Materials Producers
For Asia-Pacific
APAC
(Asia Pacific Accreditation Cooperation)
Laboratories, Inspection and Certification Bodies
For America
IAAC
(Inter American Accreditation Cooperation)
Laboratories, Inspection and Certification Bodies
For ARAB Region Countries
ARAC
(Arab Accreditation Cooperation)
Laboratories, Inspection and Certification Bodies
For Africa
AFRAC
(African Accreditation Cooperation)
For Asia-Pacific
APAC
(Asia Pacific Accreditation Cooperation)
For America
IAAC
(Inter American Accreditation Cooperation)
For ARAB Region Countries
ARAC
(Arab Accreditation Cooperation)