CHAPTER V

REQUIREMENTS CONCERNING ACCREDITATION BODIES FOR THE ACCREDITATION OF ETS VERIFIERS

Peer evaluation
Article 64
1
National accreditation bodies shall subject themselves to a regular peer evaluation.
The peer evaluation shall be organised by the body recognised under Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008.
2
The body recognised under Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 shall implement appropriate peer evaluation criteria and an effective and independent peer evaluation process in order to assess whether:
a
the national accreditation body that is subject to the peer evaluation has carried out the accreditation activities in accordance with Chapter IV;
b
the national accreditation body that is subject to the peer evaluation has met the requirements laid down in this Chapter.
The criteria shall include competence requirements for peer evaluators and peer evaluation teams that are specific to the scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowances trading established by Directive 2003/87/EC.
3
The body recognised under Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 shall publish and communicate the outcome of the peer evaluation of a national accreditation body to the Commission, the national authorities responsible for the national accreditation bodies in the Member States, and the competent authority of Member States or the focal point referred to in Article 69(2).
4
Without prejudice to paragraph 1, where a national accreditation body has successfully undergone a peer evaluation organised by the body recognised under Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 prior to the entry into force of this Regulation, the national accreditation body shall be exempted from undergoing a new peer evaluation following the entry into force of this Regulation if it can demonstrate conformity with this Regulation.
To that end, the national accreditation body concerned shall submit a request and the necessary documentation to the body recognised under Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008.
The body recognised under Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 shall decide whether the conditions for granting an exemption have been met.
The exemption shall apply for a period not exceeding three years from the date of notification of the decision to the national accreditation body.
5
The national authority entrusted, pursuant to Article 54(2), with the tasks related to the certification of verifiers that are natural persons, pursuant to this Regulation shall meet a level of credibility equivalent to national accreditation bodies that have successfully undergone peer evaluation.
To that end, the Member State concerned shall, immediately following its decisions authorising the national authority to perform certification, provide the Commission and the other Member States with all relevant documentary evidence. No national authority shall certify verifiers for the purposes of this Regulation before the Member State concerned provides that documentary evidence.
The Member State concerned shall periodically review the functioning of the national authority with a view to ensure that it continues to meet the aforementioned level of credibility and inform the Commission thereof.