Case Study

EU Commission uses accreditation to ensure safer and cleaner cars

The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission has proposed a major overhaul of the EU type-approval framework for motor vehicles following the Volkswagen revelations in September 2015. The Commission concluded on the need to prevent cases of non-compliance by proposing a new regulation to make vehicle testing more independent and reliable and increase surveillance of cars already in circulation.

The main building blocks of the new rules are:

• Raise the quality level and independence of type-approval and testing before a car is placed on the market
• Increase checks of cars that are already on the EU market:
• Carry out market checks independently from Member States to initiate EU-wide recalls
• Recognition of the Accreditation of Technical Services in accordance with Regulation (EC)765/2008 as an alternative to peer evaluations by Type Approval Authorities.

Accreditation demonstrates impartiality and the technical competence of Conformity Assessment Bodies. By relying on accredited Inspection Bodies and Technical Services, regulators and governments limit cost and resources, avoiding the use of their own personnel and the duplication of audits, obtaining conformity assessment based on technical competence and impartiality providing objective results to support sound decisions in regulation, public procurement or delivery of products or services onto the market.

Further information can be found on the EU Commission website.