During its meeting, the Committee noted that Sri Lanka had applied for membership on 4 December 2007. Sri Lanka is the first Asian country to apply for membership - a sign that the Convention is becoming international. The Committee appointed a Delegation which will visit Sri Lanka in July 2008.
The Committee discussed an internal report regarding the practice of "off-shore marking" (i.e. the hallmarking of articles in third countries), which it refused to authorise under the Convention, as well as the possible consequences of services liberalisation (notably the EU Services Directive). It also discussed a report on market surveillance under the Convention.
The Committee noted a report from the Standing Technical Group (STG), which had met in Lisbon (Portugal) on 7 February 2008. The STG is responsible for advising the Committee on technical matters. Various proposals to allow the combination of marks (e.g. combined CCM and fineness mark) were discussed.
The Ukraine offered to host the next meeting in Kiev on 22 September 2008.
The Standing Committee meeting was followed by the inaugural meeting of the International Association of Assay Offices (IAAO) on 15 April 2008. It was chaired by Ms. Nataša Mejak-Vukovic of Slovenia's Metrology Institute and attended by 66 participants from various Assay Offices around the world.
The IAAO discussed its constitution (consisting in a Memorandum of Understanding) as well as its governing principles. It also discussed the organisation of Round Robins. Participants exchanged information on EU-related matters (Mutual Recognition Regulation, Services Directive, acceptance of national hallmarks, etc.) and agreed to establish a web site for the IAAO.
The IAAO agreed to reconvene in Kiev on 23 September 2008.
The IAAO meeting was followed by a "Fakes & Forgery Seminar" organised by the London Assay Office.