More than 30 representatives of the Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs), assessing the energetic characteristics of appliances in the household with the requirements of technical legislation participated in a one-day training project of the European Union "EU4Energy Labelling and Ecodesign" during April and May.
On this occasion, the participants were introduced to the main strategic energy and climate goals of the European Union, along with the EU laws in these areas, which, among other goals, should lead to 32.5% energy savings in relation to its consumption in 1990, by increasing energy efficiency.
Special attention was paid to the Energy Labelling Regulation (2017/1369) and the Ecodesign Directive (2009/125/EC), which complement the regulation of the energy efficiency of products on the market. The Ecodesign Directive prevents the entrance of non-energy efficient products to the market, and the Energy Labelling Regulation obliges manufacturers to mark products with energy labels. This way, consumers are informed about appliance performances and can select and buy the one that is energy efficient. The domestic and EU legislation is in the process of harmonization, while the gradual adoption of these regulations is planned.
Before placing the product on the market, the producers are obliged to assess the fulfilment of technical requirements prescribed by relevant rulebooks. If they have the capacities, producers can do it independently, or with assistance from the CABs - after which the product receives a recognizable label. In addition, a conformity check of the Conformity Assessment Body is performed for products that are already in sale, at the request of the market inspection.
As no domestic CAB in Serbia is currently accredited to verify new technical regulations, the EU project "EU4Energy Labelling and Ecodesign" aims at strengthening their capacities by providing training and individualized technical support to prepare them for accreditation of these services according to standards.
"Conformity assessment is a market category. Therefore, the bodies that deal with the testing of products that are produced in Serbia, such as solid fuel boilers, refrigerators, light bulbs, and others, have applied to participate in the project ", said Mirko Đapić, PhD, a key project expert.
During the training, CABs were introduced in more detail to the project activities and next steps.
This way, the project "EU4Energy Labelling and Ecodesign" will contribute to improving the quality of products on the market in Serbia, simplify the placement of domestic products to the European Union market, and also have a positive impact on environmental protection.