Laboratory Accreditation in Europe

Abstract

0.1 In recent years the attitude of the European Commission (EC) and of the Governments of the European countries, toward accreditation has changed such that it is now regarded as a national authority function, to be conducted in the absence of competition. Each European Union (EU)member state appoints a sole national accreditation body operating generally only within its national borders.0.2 Under the provisions of the European co-operation for Accreditation [2] Multi Lateral Agreement (EA MLA) [3] the European accreditation bodies now cooperate to ensure that laboratories are accredited by the accreditation body of the economy in which they are established. The European accreditation bodies do not compete in Europe and the work of any laboratory is assessed by the accreditation body local to the site concerned. This underpins the MLA by demonstrating the equivalence of the work of the accreditation bodies. It further ensures the growth and development of the accreditation bodies in the newer, smaller economies of the European Union.0.3 The author will explain the background, the legislation and the measures taken to serve the needs of laboratories including the multi-national laboratory owners and their customers. He will describe the benefits and the difficulties of implementing this regime and will include a brief discussion on “legal entities” as featured in the ISO/IEC 17000 series of accreditation standards as this often crucially affects the available choices for a European accreditation applicant.