1.The members of the group shall be appointed by the Commission from experts with competence in the area covered by the mandate of the group, on the basis of:
proposals from European or national associations, representing customer and financial services industry interests, which have responded to a call for expression of interest;
responses to a call for expression of interest by individuals with academic background.
2.The group shall be composed of a maximum of 20 members.
3.The following provisions shall apply:
members proposed by European or national associations, representing customer and financial services industry interests, are appointed as representatives of interested parties;
members with academic background are appointed in a personal capacity;
the mandate of the members of the group shall start with the first meeting of the group and end with the issuance of the report, no later than 1 May 2007. They shall remain in office until such time as they are replaced or their mandate ends;
members who are no longer able to contribute effectively to the group’s deliberations, who resign or who do not respect the conditions set out in the first, second or third dash of this paragraph or Article 287 of the Treaty establishing the European Community may be replaced for the remaining period of their mandate;
the names of the members will be published on the Internet site of the DG Internal Market and Services. The names of members are collected, processed and published in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 on the protection of individuals with regards to the processing of personal data.
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.