Article 3 Membership — Appointment

Members of the Group shall be appointed by the Commission from high-level specialists with competence in the areas under Article 2, who have responded to the Call for Applications. The Commission’s representative may ask experts or observers with specific competence on a subject on the agenda to participate in the group’s deliberations whenever appropriate.

The group shall be composed of a maximum of 20 members.

Members of the Group shall be appointed for a term of 18 months.

The members shall be appointed in a personal capacity and shall advise the Commission independently of any outside influence.

Members of the Group shall remain in office until such time as they are replaced or their mandate ends.

Members who are no longer capable of contributing effectively to the deliberations of the Group, who resign or who do not comply with the conditions set out in the paragraph 4 of this Article or in Article 287 of the Treaty may be replaced for the remainder of their term of office.

Members appointed in a personal capacity shall each year sign an undertaking to act in the public interest and a declaration indicating the absence or existence of any interest which may undermine their objectivity.

The names of members appointed in a personal capacity shall be published on the Internet site of the Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry and in C series of the Official Journal of the European Union. The names of members shall be collected, processed and published in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001.