CBAM: European Accreditation issues document EA-6/05 INF on cooperation between EEA accreditation bodies and bodies in third countries in accrediting verifiers of embedded emissions
On 6 October 2026 European Accreditation (EA) announced that on 5 October it had published the informative document EA-6/05 INF on cooperation between EEA national accreditation bodies and national accreditation bodies in third countries in the accreditation of verifiers established outside the EEA under Regulation (EU) 2023/956 (CBAM). The document was prepared by the EA Certification Committee and approved on 15 September 2026.
- According to EA, CBAM entered into force on 1 January 2026 and concerns sectors producing iron and steel, cement, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity and hydrogen. The emissions embedded in imported goods are verified by an independent verifier accredited for the relevant scope under Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 by an EU (EEA) national accreditation body. A verifier located in the EU applies to its own national accreditation body, while a verifier from a third country applies to an EU body that provides CBAM accreditation; the details are set out in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/2551 of November 2025.
- Where the accreditation body in the third country is an EA MLA signatory for the relevant scope, EA policy (EA-2/13) provides that the EEA body, wherever possible, subcontracts to it the assessment of the verifier’s activities performed in that country, including witnessed assessments. The requirements of section 4 of EA-2/13 and clause 6.4 of EN ISO/IEC 17011 on outsourcing then apply; cooperation may also take the form of using the local body’s personnel.
- Where the local body is not an EA MLA signatory but accredits greenhouse gas verifiers under ISO/IEC 17029 and ISO 14065, the EEA body shall normally use its personnel — mainly technical assessors and experts — as much as possible, trained on Regulations (EU) 2023/956 and 2025/2551. Where the local body does not accredit such verifiers, the EEA body assesses the verifier with its own personnel or trains and fully manages local personnel; it may inform the local body and give it the opportunity to observe assessments.
- The language of the accreditation process between the bodies and the verifier is the language of the EEA body or English, if its legal provisions allow. If an EU body provides CBAM accreditation but cannot itself accredit a verifier from a third country, it helps the verifier, with EA’s support, to find a body that can provide accreditation in the country concerned; EA has published a directory of national accreditation bodies intending to offer accreditation of CBAM verifiers.