EEPLIANT3 - Work Package 4 - Establishment of centres of excellence for product testing

Work Package Leader: Fundación para el Fomento de la Innovación Industrial (FFII-LCOE), Spain
Work Package Coordinator: PROSAFE

Scope

Access to good test facilities can be very difficult for most Market Surveillance Authorities (MSAs) across Europe. Some are developing their own in-house testing facilities whilst others continue to seek affordable commercial expert test laboratories. This Work Package explores the possibilities for establishing ‘centres of excellence’ for market surveillance, particularly by MSAs themselves, to support testing and strengthening coordination between the market surveillance actors.

Objective

To identify ways for improving MSAs' access to independent and competent test facilities, and to create a directory of where these exist in the EU.

Work Plan

• Setting the focus of the action;
• Establishing what test facilities already exist amongst MSAs in the EEA for energy related testing and, on a lesser, scale what example equivalents exist in other EU policy domains;
• Establishing the motivation behind establishing the existing facilities;
• Future scoping existing MSA - operated test facilities;
• Produce map of existing and planned test facilities operated by MSAs or equivalent authorities;
• Establishing what commercial test facilities exist for Energy Labelling and or Eco-design testing in the EEA and policy recommendations for setting up a network of centres of excellence.

Participants

6 Market Surveillance Authorities and 4 other organisations from the following 9 countries: Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain.