Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

Article 4 General principles

1. Each Member State shall appoint a single national accreditation body.

2. Where a Member State considers that it is not economically meaningful or sustainable to have a national accreditation body or to provide certain accreditation services, it shall, as far as possible, have recourse to the national accreditation body of another Member State.

3. A Member State shall inform the Commission and the other Member States where, in accordance with paragraph 2, recourse is had to the national accreditation body of another Member State.

4. On the basis of the information referred to in paragraph 3 and Article 12, the Commission shall draw up and update a list of national accreditation bodies which it shall make publicly available.

5. Where accreditation is not operated directly by the public authorities themselves, a Member State shall entrust its national accreditation body with the operation of accreditation as a public authority activity and grant it formal recognition.

6. The responsibilities and tasks of the national accreditation body shall be clearly distinguished from those of other national authorities.

7. The national accreditation body shall operate on a not-for-profit basis.

8. The national accreditation body shall not offer or provide any activities or services that conformity assessment bodies provide, nor shall it provide consultancy services, own shares in or otherwise have a financial or managerial interest in a conformity assessment body.

9. Each Member State shall ensure that its national accreditation body has the appropriate financial and personnel resources for the proper performance of its tasks, including the fulfilment of special tasks, such as activities for European and international accreditation cooperation and activities that are required to support public policy and which are not self-financing.

10. The national accreditation body shall be a member of the body recognised under Article 14.

11. National accreditation bodies shall establish and maintain appropriate structures to ensure the effective and balanced involvement of all interested parties within both their organisations and the body recognised under Article 14.