EA has launched an EC-supported project aiming at harmonising the accreditation requirements used as basis for notification: the preferred harmonized standards will be defined and listed for each Union Harmonization Legislation.

According to Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, national accreditation bodies (NABs) have to use harmonized standards for the assessment when accreditation is used as the basis for notification. The Union Harmonization Legislations (European directives/regulations) however do not stipulate which harmonized standard(s) have to be used.

As a result, conformities assessment bodies (CABs) in different Member States have to meet different requirements with the main significant effects that:
– accreditations may not be totally comparable;
– the competence of the accredited bodies for notification purposes may be compromised;
– diversity of expenditures may lead to unfair competition for CABs in Europe;
– this could cause confusion in the marketplace.
To ensure a coherent level of outcome provided by CABs being accredited and notified, accreditation by NABs should be conducted in a harmonized way throughout Europe.

Partly financed by the EA Operation Grants for 2014 and 2015, the EA project has the following successive objectives:
– define the preferred harmonized standards – and if applicable additional requirements – per module for each directive/regulation and create a corresponding list with all 28 directives/regulations in question;
– facilitate the harmonization of the requirements used for accreditation as basis for notification with the aim to ensure the same level of outcome for all notified bodies throughout the EU;
– establish an IT-based tool which enables NABs, CABs and notifying authorities to be provided with a comprehensive list of accreditation requirements for every European legislation;
– carry out a peer-evaluator training to make sure that the peer-evaluations cover the correct application of the requirements defined for accreditation as basis for notification;
– lead one or several workshops for the EA DGs being responsible for the establishment of directives/regulations which might include conformity assessment and accreditation/notification activities.

In addition to the EA Executive Committee which is the decision-maker, the project is overseen by a project steering group, chaired by Vagn Andersen (DANAK).
The project is managed by the project team, composed of 6 experts from NABs. The project team is led by the project manager Kevin Belson (UKAS).
For each directive/regulation further experts from the NABs will be involved.
Finally a group from the EA Communications and Publications Committee (CPC) will be in charge of establishing the IT-based tool.

The project was formally launched at a kick-off meeting which was held on 25 and 26 August 2014 at the EA Secretariat in Paris. The list of 28 EC directives and regulations was reviewed so that a first set of 12 directives could be prioritised for review. Three NAB experts are being selected for each of the first 12 priority directives in order for a sample of views to be collected.
The final conclusions and recommendations will be collated into an EA list of preferred standards per module and per directive. The project will be completed by end 2015.

Furthermore, the involvement of stakeholders, notably the European Commission (EC) and its various DGs (Directorate General) is currently in preparation by the EA Executive Committee.