ATS - BATA Agreement on Cooperation in the field of accreditation

In accordance with the 2006 CEFTA Agreement (Central European Free Trade Agreement) and a need to remove unnecessary barriers to trade, the Accreditation Board of Serbia signed, on 24th February 2010, the Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Accreditation with the Institute for Accreditation of Bosnia & Herzegovina (BATA).

The aim of the Agreement was to ensure regular cooperation and active participation of both accreditation bodies when developing and upgrading the accreditation process in both countries.

Signatories to this Agreement were obliged to cooperate in the filed of accreditation of testing and calibration laboratories, certification bodies certifying products, management systems and persons, and inspection bodies. The cooperation will be realised by means of exchange of accreditation-related information and documentation, joint seminars and conferences, mutual training of staffs, exchange of assessors and technical experts, joint assessments and participation in inter-laboratory comparisons.

The Agreement on Cooperation was signed, on behalf of the Accreditation Board of Serbia, by Dejan Krnjaić PhD, Director, and by Žarko Petrović PhD, Director, on behalf of the Institute for Accreditation of Bosnia & Herzegovina.

Prof. Slobodan Petrović PhD, Chairman of the ATS Management Board, Žarko Petrović PhD, BATA Director, and Dejan Krnjaić PhD, ATS Director

Žarko Petrović PhD, BATA Director, and Dejan Krnjaić PhD, ATS Director

The signing of the Agreement was preceded by the a meeting of the directors of accreditation bodies from the neighbouring countries: Žarko Petrović PhD, BATA Director, Dr Trpe Ristoski, IARM Director, prof. Zdravko Krivokapić PhD, Chairman of the ATCG Management Board, prof. Slobodan Petrović PhD, Chairman of the ATS Management Board, Dejan Krnjaić PhD, ATS Director, Natalija Jovičić Zarić MSc, ATS Deputy Director, and EU experts: Vitomir Fister, in charge of accreditation and conformity assessment affairs as part of the national CARDS 2006 – Technical Assistance to Quality Infrastructure Institutions in Serbia, Leon Kos MSc, Slovenian Institute of Quality and Metrology, and Irena Možek Grgurevič MSc, Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Slovenia, that will at the seminar for accredited bodies give a lecture on the subject of EU legislation.

The meeting was held with the aim of promoting the existing cooperation between the accreditation bodies of Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Macedonia and Montenegro where the work of national accreditation bodies and existing situation were discussed, and the modes to improve the future cooperation in those segments where the cooperation can be achieved and is needed (exchange of information and documentation in the field of accreditation, organisation of seminars and conferences, training of staff, exchange of assessors and technical assessors, joint assessments).

Dr Trpe Ristoski, Vitomir Fister, Irena Možek Grgurevič, Leon Kos, Dejan Krnjaić PhD, Natalija Jovičić Zarić MSc, Žarko Petrović PhD, prof. Slobodan Petrović PhD, and prof. Zdravko Krivokapić PhD

Dr Trpe Ristoski, Vitomir Fister, Irena Možek Grgurevič MSc and Leon Kos MSc

Dejan Krnjaić PhD, Natalija Jovičić Zarić MSc and Žarko Petrović PhD

Žarko Petrović PhD, prof. Slobodan Petrović PhD, and prof. Zdravko Krivokapić PhD