C 247/100
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
29.6.2022
Accreditation bodies then have to demonstrate that they are capable and competent to carry out accreditation in the different fields of conformity assessment serviced by them.
These activities are themselves determined by a number of harmonised standards (such as EN ISO/IEC 17025 for testing and calibration laboratories, EN ISO/IEC 17020 for inspection bodies or EN ISO/IEC 17065 for bodies certifying products, services and processes).
In addition, peer evaluators have to make sure that the accreditation body takes into account any other requirements in its assessments, which are relevant for the specific conformity assessment activities to be carried out by the bodies which they accredit.
These may be the specific requirements contained in conformity assessment schemes, including European and national schemes.
6.5.3.
Presumption of conformity for national accreditation bodies
If a national accreditation body can demonstrate as a result of the peer evaluation process that it meets the requirements of the relevant harmonised standard (273), it is presumed to meet the requirements for national accreditation bodies that are outlined in Article 8 of the Regulation.
More importantly - and this is of specific importance for the regulatory sphere – if a national accreditation body has successfully undergone peer evaluation for a specific conformity assessment activity, national authorities are obliged to accept the accreditation certificates issued by this body, as well as any attestations (e.g. test or inspection reports, certificates) issued by conformity assessment bodies accredited by this accreditation body.
6.5.4.
EA’s role in supporting and harmonising accreditation practice across Europe
Following on from EA’s role as the organisation that is in charge of the peer evaluation of national accreditation bodies there is a need to arrive at a coherent and equivalent approach to accreditation which then warrants the mutual recognition and acceptance of conformity assessment attestations.
This means that EA has to facilitate a common approach to accreditation practice and towards the harmonised standards and the requirements that may be contained in any sector schemes.
Therefore, with the involvement of all parties concerned such as stakeholders and national authorities, EA has to develop transparent guidance that its members have to respect when conducting accreditation.
6.6.
Cross-border accreditation
The possibility of a conformity assessment body to request accreditation with a national accreditation body in another Member State is only allowed in a limited number of cases.
According to Article 7(1) of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, conformity assessment bodies, whether third-party or firstparty/ in-house, are required when requesting accreditation to do so with the national accreditation body of the Member State in which they are established.
This general rule allows for exceptions: the possibility of a conformity assessment body to request accreditation with a national accreditation body in another Member State is limited to cases where — there is no national accreditation body in its own Member State and no other national accreditation body to which recourse is had [Article 7(1)(a)], — the national accreditation body does not offer the requested accreditation service [Article 7(1)(b)], — the national accreditation body has not received a positive outcome in the peer evaluation in relation to the conformity assessment activity for which accreditation is requested i.e. the national accreditation body is not a signatory to the EA Multilateral Agreement for the accreditation of the conformity assessment activity concerned [Article 7(1)(c)].
Article 7(1) of the Regulation is closely linked to and is a logical consequence of the non-competition principle.
(273) ISO/IEC 17011.