STATE OF THE ART OF CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT – INTERNATIONAL REGULATIONS

Conformity assessment activities facilitate market acceptance for manufacturers, importers, exporters and traders by providing confidence that applicable requirements are being met. There is no trade without conformity assessment. There is no competitive market without standards. There is no free movement of goods without harmonisation of requirements and mutual recognition. This article presents state of the art of conformity assessment and tries to look for the future challenges of development of conformity assessment and accreditation. It is still the crucial point that market players develop a common understanding of the requirements that have to be fulfilled. On markets where free movement of goods and services is possible, another challenge is how to obtain the maximum benefits from harmonisation of standards and accredited conformity assessment activities.