What is the EA MLA?
The MLA is an agreement signed between the EA accreditation body members to recognise the equivalence, reliability and therefore acceptance of accredited certifications, inspections, calibration certificates and test reports across Europe.
The MLA eliminates the need for suppliers of products or services to be certified in each country where they sell their products or services, and therefore provides a means for goods and services to cross boundaries in Europe and throughout the world.
It delivers confidence in the service supplied by accredited laboratories, inspection and certification bodies, thereby providing the framework for goods and services to cross borders in Europe and throughout the world, acting as a "passport for trade".
The National Accreditation Body's mark on test reports and certificates is your assurance of the benefits of the MLA.| Accreditation of laboratories | Testing,Calibration Medical analyses | ISO/IEC 17025 ISO 15189 |
| Certification of products | EN 45011 (ISO/IEC Guide 65) | |
| Accreditation of certification bodies | Certification of persons | ISO/IEC 17024 |
| Certification of management systems | ISO/IEC 17021 | |
| Accreditation of inspection bodies | Inspection | ISO/IEC 17020 |
Since the MLA came into effect, the first MLA was signed in 1989 for calibration, governments have used it to further develop or enhance trade agreements within the EU. Regulatory agencies are accepting the results from testing and calibration laboratories that are accredited by EA signatories, without direct government review or intervention.
Many specifiers are also recognising the importance of accreditation programs based against internationally recognised standards.
The business community is profiting from the MLA as it provides confidence in the accuracy of a test report because it has been generated by a competent facility. Manufacturers are reaping efficiency gains because rather that carry out their own on-site assessments, they can defer to the assessments of competent accreditation authorities that are EA signatories.
Total number of accredited labs (EA)
Total number of accredited inspection bodies (EA)
The EA MLA being recognised at international level by ILAC and IAF, a test report or certificate accredited by an EA MLA signatory can be recognised also by the signatories of the ILAC and IAF multilateral agreements, the EA MLA acting then as an international passport to trade.
Click here to find an accredited organisation!
For ABs located outside the EU or EFTA, signing a bilateral agreement with EA under the conditions applicable to EA MLA signatories, gives access to the European market to products tested by laboratories accredited by non EU or EFTA accreditation bodies. It enables recognition of test results in the regulatory area thus facilitating export and trade between Europe and non European countries.
By resolution No 14 passed at the 22nd meeting of the General Assembly in November 2008, EA recognises the technical equivalence between results issued by CABs accredited under the ILAC or IAF MRA/MLA in accordance to ISO/IEC 17011requirements and results issued by CABs accredited under the EA multilateral or bilateral agreements.
EA, a regional body internationally recognised
EA is a regional cooperation body member of ILAC and IAF.
The other regional cooperation bodies are:
| For Africa | SADCA (Southern African Development Community in Accreditation) | Accreditation of laboratories, certification bodies. Member of ILAC and IAF |
| For Asia-Pacific | APLAC (Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Co-operation) | Accreditation of laboratories and inspection bodies. Member of ILAC |
| PAC (Pacific Accreditation Co-operation) | Accreditation of certification bodies. Member of IAF | |
| For America | IAAC (Inter American Accreditation Co-operation) | Accreditation of laboratories, inspection and certification bodies. Member of ILAC and IAF |
Like APLAC, PAC and IAAC, EA and its MLA members are signatories to the ILAC and IAF international multilateral arrangements.
The ILAC arrangement scope covers accreditation of testing and calibration laboratories. It was inaugurated in October 2000 in Washington.
The IAF arrangement scope covers accreditation of certification bodies in the field of quality management system certification (created in 1998), environmental management system and product certification (created in 2004).
Both ILAC and IAF cover the field of inspection accreditation. They work together to create a common multilateral agreement in the field of inspection which will be based on the existing MLA for inspection which has been developed by EA and APLAC.
Marks for international recognition of accreditation
ILAC and IAF have developed marks which can be used by the member accreditation bodies and their accredited bodies under specific conditions set out in a licence agreement.
The ILAC and IAF marks demonstrate:
- the signatory status to the ILAC / IAF arrangement;
- that the test report or certificate has been issued by a body accredited by a member of the ILAC / IAF arrangement. As such, it can be recognised and accepted by any of the signatories of these arrangements.