During the EA General Assembly on 25-26 May 2015 in Windsor, UK, EA and the International Federation of Inspection Agencies (IFIA) signed an agreement entitling the latter to become a Recognized Stakeholder of EA.

IFIA is a federation of organisations providing testing/inspection/certification services internationally. Its mission is to improve the methods, standards, safety procedures and rules used by its members for the benefit of themselves and their stakeholders.

IFIA has just been given the EA Recognised Stakeholder status and entered into an agreement with EA in accordance with EA-1/15 A: 2014 – EA Policy for Relations with Stakeholders.

When signing the agreement together with Thomas Facklam, EA Chairman, Roger Brockway, IFIA Director General, said that “Of the 57 IFIA Members, most operate in Europe and appreciate all EA’s efforts to bring consistency to European accreditation, and that we will work with you towards greater integration of the accreditation service provided by your members”.

The status of EA Recognized Stakeholder entitles IFIA to:
– attend meetings of the EA General Assembly;
– participate in the work of Technical Committees, Working Groups and Task Forces of EA;
– be granted with appropriate level of access to the EA Intranet;
– contribute to the development of EA documentation, providing inputs and comments, although not being entitled to vote on their approval;
– arrange joint cultural/educational initiatives, such as conferences, seminars, workshops, training courses and other pertinent activities.