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BELMET is the name of a network that groups research institutions and public and private laboratories that have developed knowledge in the field of scientific metrology. The BELMET network was created under the responsibility of the FPS Economy, which coordinates it.
This network aims to optimise the representation of Belgium in the bodies of the General Conference on Weights and Measures and other international metrological organisations in fields complementary to those of the national metrological laboratory.
To be part of the network, the research institution or public or private laboratory must:
- be accredited according to ISO/IEC 17 025 in the field concerned,
- have adequate resources in terms of personnel and equipment, and
- have demonstrated its technical and scientific competencies through international work and results achieved at international level.
On the basis of this decree and under certain conditions, research institutions or public or private laboratories that have developed specialised expertise in specific and technologically promising fields, and that already have an outstanding reputation, can be recognised as designated institutes or laboratories representing Belgian metrology.
In exchange for this recognition, Belgian metrology will have the opportunity to expand its competencies in primary measurement fields that are not currently developed. In this way, the BELMET network improves the representation of Belgium in the context of the international unification and perfection of the metric system developed under the aegis of the BIPM (International Bureau of Weights and Measures).
The documents relating to the BELMET network, including the report to the King, the opinion of the Council of State and the Royal Decree of 18 July 2008 establishing a network of metrology laboratories, were published in the Belgian Official Gazette of 4 August 2008.
