6 c) 認定

Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 provides a legislative framework for accreditation at the national and EU levels and puts into place an overall policy with its rules, procedures and infrastructures. The reinforcement of accreditation as a means of underpinning the competence of conformity assessment bodies and hence the credibility and acceptance of certificates and other attestations, required to ensure the free movement of goods, has been a preoccupation of the Commission since the end of the 1970s. In the 1990s there was a trend towards accreditation becoming a commercial and competitive activity, hence reducing its credibility as the last level of control. The NLF however confirmed that in the EU, accreditation is a non-commercial and non-competitive public activity which is accountable to both national and European authorities.

The reinforced EU accreditation system thus put in place is in line with the standards, rules and practices of the international organisations in the field. Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 aims to ensure that accreditation serves the public interest. European Cooperation for Accreditation (EA), the European organisation of national accreditation bodies, is recognised by the Regulation, by the guidelines signed with the Member States (EFTA included) and the Commission on 1 April 2009, and benefits from a privileged relationship with the Commission through the signature of a Framework Partnership Agreement. Within this framework, the primary role of EA is to contribute to the harmonisation of European accreditation services to support the mutual recognition and acceptance of accreditation certificates throughout the Union, and to operate a rigorous peer evaluation system that controls the competence of the national accreditation bodies and the equivalence of their services.

In the field of accreditation, Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 has established a single European system which covers both the regulated domain where accreditation is required by legislation as well as for the non-regulated sphere. In the latter case, where a body voluntarily wishes to be accredited it can only go to the accreditation bodies which operate under Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, thus avoiding the existence of competing systems, whichever principles they may be based on. Therefore, the explanations below regarding accreditation cover also accreditation delivered in the voluntary area.