3.4.2008 Official Journal of the European Union L 92/21 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 306/2008 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 gas-based solvents from equipment (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. ) Entities ~manufacturing or  operating  equipment containing fluorinated greenhouse gas based solvents could be designated as evaluation or certification bodies, or both, provided that they fulfil the relevant requirements. (6) In order to avoid unnecessary administrative costs, a Member State, in which currently no fluorinated greenhouse gas-based solvents are used, should be () O] L 161, 14.6.2006, p. 1. entitled not to establish the full certification system, provided the Member State makes the necessary arrangement to ensure that certificates could be issued without undue delays in case they might be requested in future, therefore not creating undue market entry barriers. (7 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. (8)  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. (99  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 (?). (10)  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 gas-based solvents from equipment as well as the conditions for mutual recognition of certificates issued in accordance with those requirements. (%) 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).