The Modern Role fo the European Accreditation System
All countries in the EU must have an approved accreditation body. In Sweden, this body is called SWEDAC, and as well as accrediting laboratories, certification bodies and inspection bodies, it also coordinates market control in Sweden and appoints registered bodies. Now that the EU market is expanding geographically, SWEDAC also have to approve companies that need to carry out testing and certification in countries such as Estonia, Hungary and Slovenia
Sweden’s accreditation body SWEDAC (Swedish Board for Accreditation and Conformity Assessment) is regarded as one of the four most stringent in Europe. This is not only the opinion of companies that deal with testing and certification. Lars Ettarp, Director General of SWEDAC, also recognises that there is some truth in what his customers say. Everyone agrees that this is a good idea. If you have been accredited by SWEDAC, it means that you definitely come up to scratch.FONT>
Good reputation
SWEDAC is a Swedish authority that has over 90 employees. As well as assessing registered bodies, SWEDAC also helps the Swedish government as an adviser for control and certification issues, as well as market control for both the EU and WTO. SWEDAC is part of the European Cooperation for Accreditation network, EA, and also part of international network for accreditation and laboratory operations. SWEDAC’s operations are, in turn, controlled by a European team that consists of the other EA members.
SWEDAC holds the monopoly on the Swedish market, but it would definitely like to compete for assignments in Europe with its European counterparts, if this were possible. However, the EU Commission has not signified that it intends to allow this.
EU an expanding market
Accreditation and controls form a dynamic market and this is particularly the case in Europe. New directives, regulations and standards mean that SWEDAC and other national accreditation bodies will have a lot of work to do in the near future.
“Accreditation will play a very significant role in the food manufacturing industry. The international and European food manufacturing industry has developed a new demanding system for the inspection of food called the Global Food and Safety Initiative. The European network, which we belong to, will take care of competence assessments of the certification bodies that will be in charge of this new system,” says Lars Ettarp.
“And more is happening within Europe. In accordance with EU law, all countries in the EU must have a nationally approved accreditation body. At the moment, SWEDAC is helping applicant countries such as Estonia, Latvia, Hungary and Slovenia to create accreditation bodies and market control. SWEDAC also helps a number of non-European countries with the support of Sida (the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency).
Accreditation is a system to show that various bodies are competent to test, certify, etc., on Europe’s inner market. In Europe, the accreditation system must rise above the national bureaucracy of member states and be a tool for the EU to achieve uniformity in Europe.
Swedac carries out market controls
Swedac also carries out market controls on products that have been launched on the market, to ensure that they meet the applicable requirements and regulations.
“For this, we often employ independent test houses such as ETL SEMKO, to provide an impartial assessment of, for example, the product’s electrical insulation properties,” concludes Lars Ettarp.
