To read the MLA Report 2023, click here.
To read the summary infographic, click here.
The EA Multilateral Agreement (MLA) was signed by 44 EA Members by the end of 2023. ATCG, the National Accreditation Body (NAB) of Montenegro, was recognised as a new EA MLA signatory in October 2023, whereas the EA membership and MLA signatory status of BSCA, the NAB of Belarus, terminated in May 2023. In December 2023, ARMNAB, the NAB of Armenia, has applied for becoming a new EA MLA signatory.
The number of signatories for each scope of the EA MLA remains stable in 2023 compared to 2022, with a slight progress in the numbers of signatories for medical examinations, product certification, proficiency testing provision, and reference material production.
The number of peer evaluations performed in 2023 remained stable compared to 2022, thus showing that the situation prior to the pandemic years has been fully recovered. Likewise, all the peer evaluations could be carried out on-site in 2023, except in those extraordinary circumstances preventing the peer-evaluation teams from going to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova.
To further improve the priority issue of peer evaluator resources and still make up lost pandemic time, an additional newcomer training session was organised in 2023 before the one normally planned in 2024. This session has permitted EA to gain 16 new peer evaluators, whose total number could progress by 7% in 2023.
The MAC project to reengineer the peer-evaluation system was fully completed in 2023 when the MAC finalised two last documents related to the competence of evaluators and the mechanism for feedback on any lessons learned during the peer evaluations.
Finally, the MAC endorsed the procedure for launching the EA MLA for accreditation of biobanking according to EN ISO 20387, which was approved by the EA General Assembly in May 2023. The peer-evaluation activities in the field of biobanking are ready to be started as soon as the EN ISO 20387 standard is confirmed to be harmonised.
The strongest commitment of all those involved in the EA MLA process made the progress achieved in 2023 possible. I am very grateful for their outstanding contribution to maintaining and improving the EA MLA as a sustainable mechanism for ensuring both European and International reliable equivalence and mutual acceptance of certificates and reports issued by accredited conformity assessment bodies. Strong but also flexible accreditation and peer-evaluation systems are vital to maintaining confidence in the public service that we provide.
Maria Papatzikou (ESYD)
Chair of the EA Multilateral Agreement Council
To read the MLA Report 2023, click here.
To read the summary infographic, click here.