Tasks of con­for­mi­ty as­sess­ment bod­ies (CABs) in con­nec­tion with Mu­tu­al Recog­ni­tion Agree­ments (MRAs)

One of the European Union's primary objectives is to improve economic relations with countries outside the EU, and removing trade barriers is one of the tasks involved. The old procedure of approving telecommunications equipment before the equipment is placed on the market has been replaced by a conformity assessment procedure where manufacturers are required to draw up a declaration before placing equipment on the market to confirm the equipment's conformity to all the applicable European requirements (CE conformity marking).

The conformity assessment procedures leading to the declaration of conformity are largely harmonised within the EU. As regards third-country (ie non-EU) markets, however, there is still some way to go before this can be achieved.

Recognition of non-EU conformity assessment procedures

Two independent but parallel processes aim to improve the situation:

Firstly, industry and state institutions work together within international standardisation bodies to draw up common, generally applicable technical rules (eg CEN/CENELEC and ETSI at European level, and ISO/IEC and ITU at international level). Secondly, countries work directly with each other (for instance the EU and non-EU countries) to achieve mutual recognition of their conformity assessment procedures; this is particularly important if it has not been possible to agree on common regulations or if it will not be possible in the foreseeable future.

Such mutual recognition of conformity assessment procedures (in the form of "Mutual Recognition Agreements" (MRAs)) means that one country carries out another country's conformity assessment procedures within its territory and the other country recognises the procedures without having carried them out itself.

MRAs in practice

A Conformity Assessment Body (CAB) recognised in Germany issues approvals which are legally valid in the USA and which could previously only be issued by the US regulatory authority – the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) – or one of the Telecommunication Certification Bodies (TCBs) recognised by the FCC.
The difference between this procedure and technical harmonisation again becomes clear: while years of discussions are required before an international standard can be accepted and implemented by everyone, MRAs serve to create an effective basis for mutually recognising conformity assessment procedures based on the partner country's national regulations before international regulations are in place.

This is also the reason why although MRAs are basically similar, practical application of the MRAs differs considerably not only between countries but also between sectors – such as telecommunications, EMC, electrical safety, medical devices, foodstuffs and pressure vessels – within a country.

The task of a conformity assessment body is therefore to carry out conformity assessment procedures for a certain country and a certain sector in accordance with the particular country's regulations.