3.4.2008 Official Journal of the European Union L 92/3 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 303/2008 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 companies and personnel as regards stationary refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump equipment containing certain fluorinated greenhouse gases (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, at the location of the operation of equipment containing certain fluorinated greenhouse gases, which potentially affect their leakage. Different categories of certified personnel should be provided for, in order to ensure that personnel are qualified for the activities which they undertake while avoiding disproportionate costs. 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. Personnel qualified to undertake brazing, soldering or welding should be allowed to undertake those specialised activities in the context of one of the activities for which certification is required, provided that they are supervised by certified personnel. Directive 2002/96/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 January 2003 on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) () sets out technical requirements for companies undertaking treatment and storage of waste appliances in treatment plants, () O] L 161, 14.6.2006, p. 1. (® O] L 37, 13.2.2003, 2003/108/EC (O] L 345, 31.12.2003, p. 106). p. 24. Directive as amended by Directive (10) including, inter alia, refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump equipment. The level of qualification needed for personnel recovering refrigerant in such plants is lower compared to that needed by personnel carrying out on-site recovery, because of the types of automated recovery equipment available in fridge decommissioning treatment plants. 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 and companies to obtain a certificate. 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. 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. To enable training and certification of personnel currently active in the areas covered by this Regulation without interrupting their professional activity, an adequate interim period is required during which certifi- cation should be based on existing qualification schemes and professional experience. 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. Mutual recognition should not apply to interim certi- ficates since the requirements for obtaining those certi- ficates may be significantly lower than existing requirements in some Member States.