§9.1 Agreements on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of industrial products (ACAAs)

Agreements on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of industrial products are established between the Union and EU Neighbouring countries. The European Union has always been at the forefront of support for international cooperation regarding the areas of technical regulations, standards, conformity assessment, market surveillance and the elimination of technical barriers to trade for products. Within the framework of the enlargement and the European Neighbourhood Policy, the European Commission has made clear its intention to intensify cooperation with the EU’s eastern and southern neighbours in the areas of trade, market access and regulatory structures. The use of the Union system of standardisation and conformity assessment by third countries is designed to facilitate trade and market access in both directions. Agreements on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of industrial products are intended to be established between the Union and EU Neighbouring countries (Mediterranean – Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestinian Authority, Tunisia, - and Eastern – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine). They are also available to interested countries that seek full membership of the EU. This mutual recognition of equivalence in technical regulation, standardisation and conformity assessment on which these agreements are based, operates on the basis of the EU acquis that has been transposed by the partner country, in the same way as it would apply to products placed on the market of a Member State. It allows industrial products covered by the agreements and attested as compliant with the procedures in the European Union to be placed on the market of the partner country without having to undergo any further approval procedures, and vice versa. An Agreement on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of industrial products (so-called ACAA) requires the prior full alignment of the partner country’s legal framework with EU legislation and standards and the upgrading of the implementing horizontal infrastructure in line with the model of the EU system, in relation to standardisation, accreditation, conformity assessment, metrology and market surveillance. ACAAs usually consist of a framework agreement and one or more annexes, setting out the products covered, and the means adopted to extend the benefit of trade in that sector. The framework agreement provides for two mechanisms, (a) the recognition of equivalence in technical regulation, standardisation, conformity assessment and market surveillance for industrial products subject to equivalent regulation in Union law and the national law of the partner country, and (b) the mutual acceptance of industrial products that fulfil the requirements to be lawfully placed on the market in one of the Parties in cases where there is no European technical legislation applicable to relevant products. More sectoral annexes can be added successively. A first ACAA was signed with Malta in February 2004 (321) before Malta’s formal accession to the EU in May 2004. With Israel, a first ACAA on pharmaceutical products entered into force in January 2013. At the time of writing, other Eastern and Mediterranean partners are finalising the preparatory work for launching negotiations in a number of New Approach sectors (electrical products, construction materials, toys, gas appliances, pressure equipment, etc.).

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-07