Twinning project
The overall objective of the project is to promote safer products and services in Ukraine, improving productivity of the Ukrainian economy to produce goods and services that are compatible with EU practices and international practices, as well as increase the volume of direct foreign investments by bringing the infrastructure of Ukraine in compliance with international and European regulatory and administrative practices in the sphere of Quality, particularly accreditation.
The British Standards Institute (BSI), the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS), the National Physical Laboratory of UK (NPL) and the Federal Institute for Material Research and Tests in Germany (BAM) have joined forces to strengthen the National Accreditation Agency of Ukraine in the new Twinning project «Further development of the National Accreditation Agency of Ukraine (NAAU) according to European practices".
Given the important role of NAAU in the realization of the New and Global Approach principles in Ukraine, NAAU has to strengthen relations with the European cooperation for Accreditation (EA), which is currently working on measures to instill closer relations with the countries of the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP), in particular giving the ENP countries the opportunity obtain membership in the EA.
On November 23, 2011 NAAU delegation, headed by the Chairman Mr. Chekalin, during the participation in the 28th meeting of the EA General Assembly, held in Warsaw, Poland, has signed an agreement on NAAU’s associated membership in EA.
Twinning project will continue to support NAAU in strengthening cooperation with the EA by helping NAAU to prepare for peer-evaluations by the EA, which is a prerequisite for joining the EA Multilateral Agreement (MLA). It is important to note that the EA MLA allows its members to recognize the equivalence of technical competence of each other, which facilitates access to the EU market. Joining the MLA also facilitates access to international markets through constant cooperation between EA, International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) and International Accreditation Forum (IAF).
This Twinning project is also aimed at strengthening NAAU’s image as a competent and reliable accreditation body, thereby increasing confidence in conformity assessment organizations operating in Ukraine. This in turn will facilitate the export of Ukrainian goods and simultaneously will provide access for Ukrainian consumers to a wide range of safer and more high-quality local and imported goods.
Successful experience in other countries has shown how important it is to raise and maintain a high level of transparency and awareness of the benefits of effective quality infrastructure, these efforts should be aimed primarily at top management on the executive level, particularly for senior civil servants and people who make decisions in the private sector.
The project will also contribute NAAU in the development and implementation of effective and sustainable action plan for external communications. This plan will constantly be expanded over NAAU’s institutional life and will include educational activities through the media, conferences, technical seminars, information on web pages and technical and administrative reports.
Contacts:
NAAU
Kutuzova Str., 18/7
Kyiv - 01133, Ukraine
Tel.: +38 044 286 62 60 - Valery Krasiuk RTA-counterpart, krasiuk@naau.org.ua
Resident Twinning Advisor in Ukraine Mr. Hugh B. Berridge - tel.: +38 044 286 62 84 hbberridge@aol.com