World Laboratory Day
The path to analytical precision in the EU’s Eastern Partnership countries
World Laboratory Day celebrates the place where great inventions emerge, which help to make the world better. In terms of the European Water Initiative Plus (EUWI+), better equipped and newly renovated water laboratories contribute to usher in a new era for water resources management in the EU’s eastern neighborhood countries. In the past five years, eight laboratories have been renovated or refurbished and supplied with new equipment to improve water quality monitoring in the Eastern Partnership countries.
In addition, around 400 new analytical instruments and accessories have been acquired under EUWI+ for fieldwork and water analysis in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Belarus and Ukraine. In 70 sessions, local experts received training in chemical and biological analysis, laboratory accreditation and quality management of surface and groundwater as well as coastal waters.
Laboratory Accreditation: towards the golden standard in analytical quality
Laboratory accreditation is the internationally accepted framework for increased quality and consistency of analytical data. The international standard EN ISO/IEC 17025:2017 “General requirements for the technical competence of testing and calibration laboratories” specifies the general requirements for the competence, impartiality and consistent operation of accredited laboratories. These capacities also play a key role in the implementation of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD), which requires quality assurance, comparability and reliability of analytical results.
Therefore, the European Water Initiative Plus (EUWI+) offered tailor-made technical support for the main partner laboratories involved in water monitoring in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Belarus and Ukraine towards new laboratory accreditation or expansion of existing scope of accreditation to enhance technical capability and competence.
About EUWI+
Launched in September 2016 for a duration of four years, the European Union Water Initiative plus for the Eastern Partnership Programme (EUWI+) is one of the EU's biggest commitments to policy dialogue and technical support in the water sector of the Eastern Partnership countries of the European Union. The programme supports all six partner countries (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine) in the alignment of their legislation with the European Union's policy on water management, with a strong focus on transboundary rivers. It provides support to the development of a long-term vision of water sector reforms in these countries. The project is funded by the European Union and implemented by four partners: an EU Member States consortium comprised of the Environment Agency Austria and the International Office for Water (France), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).
The Environment Agency Austria contributes to this cooperation especially with its know-how and experience in water monitoring and laboratory development. In the EU's Eastern Partnership countries, not only the technical knowledge of the Austrian experts is required but also their experience in institutional capacity-building with local experts.
