3.4.2008 Official Journal of the European Union L 92/17 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 305/2008 of 2 April 2008 establishing, pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 842/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, minimum requirements and the conditions for mutual recognition for the certification of personnel recovering certain fluorinated greenhouse gases from high-voltage switchgear (Text with EEA relevance) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 842/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2006 on certain fluorinated greenhouse gases (1), and in particular Article 5(1) thereof, Whereas: (1) For the purposes of the requirements of Regulation (EC) No 842/2006, it is necessary to lay down rules on the qualification of personnel carrying out activities on equipment containing certain fluorinated greenhouse gases which can potentially cause leakage. (2)  Personnel not yet certified but enrolled in a training course for the purpose of obtaining a certificate should be, for a limited time, allowed to undertake activities for which such certification is required to gain the practical skills needed for the examination, provided that they are supervised by certified personnel. (3) A number of Member States do not currently have quali- fication or certification systems in place. A limited period should therefore be allowed for personnel to obtain a certificate. (4)  For the purpose of avoiding undue administrative burden, it should be allowed to build a certification system on existing qualification schemes provided that the skills and knowledge covered and the relevant quali- fication system are equivalent to the minimum standards envisaged by this Regulation. (5)  Entities manufacturing or operating high voltage switchgear could be designated as evaluation or certifi- cation bodies or both, provided that they fulfil the relevant requirements. (6)  Examination is an effective means of testing the ability of a candidate to carry out properly the actions which can directly cause leakage, as well as those that can indirectly cause leakage. () O] L 161, 14.6.2006, p. 1. (7)  Officially designated evaluation and certification bodies should ensure compliance with the minimum requirements set out in this Regulation and thereby contribute to the effective and efficient mutual recog- nition of certificates throughout the Community. (8)  Information on the certification system issuing certi- ficates subject to mutual recognition should be notified to the Commission in the format established by Commission Regulation (EC) No 308/2008 of 2 April 2008 establishing, pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 842/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, the format for notification of the training and certification programmes of the Member States (?). (99 The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee estab- lished by Article 18(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council (%), HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Atticle 1 Subject matter and scope This Regulation establishes minimum requirements for the certi- fication of personnel recovering certain fluorinated greenhouse gases from high-voltage switchgear as well as the conditions for mutual recognition of certificates issued in accordance with those requirements. Article 2 Definitions For the purposes of this Regulation ‘high voltage switchgear’ means switching devices and their combination with associated control, measuring, protective and regulating equipment, and assemblies of such devices and equipment with associated inter- connections, accessories, enclosures and supporting structures, intended for use in connection with generation, transmission, distribution and conversion of electric energy at rated voltages above 1000 V. (%) See page 28 of this Official Journal. () O] L 244, 29.9.2000, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commission Decision 2007/540/EC (O] L 198, 31.7.2007, p. 35).