ABOUT THE PROJECT

In her endeavor to become a member of the European Union, Turkey has obtained strong European support in one important but less to the political limelight exposed area to upgrade her infrastructure and to finalize harmonization of her technical legislation in one areas of direct relevance to the Custom Union.

The legal basis for the complete harmonization with EC legislation have been the Association Council Decisions No. 1/95 and 2/97 in 1995 and 1997 whereby the decision 2/97 listed the areas in which Turkey shall align its legislation to that of the EU.

In line with these decisions, the Law on the Preparation and Implementation of the Technical Legislation on Products (Framework Law) was published in the Turkish Official Gazette on June 29, 2001 and entered into force on January 11, 2002. (Law n°: 4703)

This Framework Law was prepared to establish the legal basis for the complete harmonisation with the EC legislation, and it lays down the basic principles for product safety and the implementation of Old and New Approach Directives. It sets out the conditions of the placing on the market of the products, the obligations of the producers and distributors, the conformity assessment bodies, notified bodies, market surveillance and inspection, the prohibition of the placing on the market of certain products, the withdrawal and destruction of the marketed products as well as the notifications relating to these arrangements.

One rather important objective will be to strengthen TÜRKLAB - the national association of Turkish testing, analytical and calibration laboratories. TÜRKLAB represents Turkey’s membership in the relevant European organization, e.g. in EUROLAB, and also will represent Turkey's Laboratories Community in various international organizations.

All member states of the European Union maintain such a recognized national association and its implementation constitutes essentially one of the prerequisites for full EU membership.

The assistance provided by the EU to Turkey, and therefore to TÜRKLAB, takes place within the MEDA II program via the “Support to Conformity Assessment Bodies Activities” project. The main objectives are directed toward the:

- Preparation of conformity assessment bodies to accreditation,
- Strengthening the national association of Turkish conformity assessment practitioners, i.e. TÜRKLAB.

Key experts from Turkey and abroad will inform and train people who are qualified and interested in conformity assessment. The program will last only until November 2005. The following topics will be covered in workshops and training sessions:

Workshops on accreditation with a focus on requirements related to quality and technical aspects for:
- Testing and calibration laboratories
- Product and system certification bodies
- Inspection bodies

Preparation and implementation of
Trainer Workshops in the field of accreditation of:
- Testing and calibration laboratories
- Product and system certification bodies
- Inspection bodies