This year was a first for the EA Multilateral Agreement (MLA) Council, with an entirely remote 43rd Management Group meeting on 19th and 20th May 2020, and e-ballots to vote on the new EA MLA and BLA signatories.

The EA Multilateral Agreement Council (MAC) which manages the peer-evaluation process, and decides on MLA signatories, took the following decisions:

BSCA, the National Accreditation Body of Belarus, becomes an EA BLA signatory in the fields of Medical Examinations (EN ISO 15189), Inspection (EN ISO/IEC 17020) and Proficiency Testing Providers (EN ISO/IEC 17043).

CYS-CYSAB, the National Accreditation Body of  Cyprus, becomes an EA MLA signatory in the field of Product Certification, according to EN ISO/IEC 17065.

DPA, the National Accreditation Body of Albania, becomes an EA MLA signatory in the field of Certification of Persons, according to EN ISO/IEC 17024.

BSCA, the National Accreditation Body of Belarus, remains an EA BLA signatory in the fields of Calibration (EN ISO/IEC 17025), Testing (EN ISO/IEC 17025), Certification of Management Systems (EN ISO/IEC 17021-1), Certification of Products (EN ISO/IEC 17065), Certification of Persons (EN ISO/IEC 17024.

ESYD, the National Accreditation Body of Greece, remains an EA MLA signatory in the fields of Calibration (EN ISO/IEC 17025), Testing (EN ISO/IEC 17025) including Medical Examinations (EN ISO 15189), Inspection (EN ISO/IEC 17020), Proficiency Testing Providers (EN ISO/IEC 17043), Certification of Management Systems (EN ISO/IEC 17021-1), Certification of Products (EN ISO/IEC 17065), Certification of Persons (EN ISO/IEC 17024), and Validation and Verification (EN ISO 14065).

NAH, the National Accreditation Body of Hungary, remains an EA MLA signatory in the field of Certification of Products (EN ISO/IEC 17065).

Transition from ISO/IEC 17011:2004 to ISO/IEC 17011:2017

The EA MAC confirms that ATS, BATA, BSCA, COFRAC, CYS-CYSAB, DANAK, DPA, EAK, ESYD, IARNM, , LA, NA, NAB-MALTA, NAH, PCA, RENAR, RvA, SA and SWEDAC successfully made the transition from SO/IEC 17011:2004 to ISO/IEC 17011:2017.

EA Multilateral Agreement (MLA)

The EA Multilateral Agreement (EA MLA) is a signed agreement between the EA Full Members whereby the signatories recognize and accept the equivalence of the accreditation systems operated by the signing members, and also the reliability of the conformity assessment results provided by Conformity Assessment Bodies accredited by the signing members.

A Bilateral Agreement (BLA) between an EA Associate Member and EA has the same purpose and bilateral signatories to the EA MLA shall meet the same requirements as EA Full Members.

Peer-Evaluation Process

The strength of the EA MLA is maintained through a robust peer evaluation process. The main objective of the peer-evaluation activities is to evaluate the on-going compliance of the National Accreditation Bodies to the internationally agreed requirements and to ensure that regulators, stakeholders, and the business community can have confidence in certificates and reports issued by Conformity Assessment Bodies under the EA MLA.

Further information about the EA Multilateral Agreement and the peer-evaluation process is available on EA’s website.