Commission Decision of 23 December 2009 on the renewal of the mandate of the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (2010/1/EU) (repealed)

Article 4 Functioning

1. The EGE members shall elect a chairperson and a vice-chairperson from among its members for the duration of the term of office.

2. The EGE Work Programme, including such ethical reviews suggested on its own initiative by the EGE, shall be agreed by the President of the Commission. The Bureau of European Policy Advisers (BEPA) of the Commission, acting in close cooperation with the EGE’s chairperson, shall be responsible for organising the work of the EGE and its Secretariat.

3. The EGE’s working sessions shall be private. Outside these working sessions the EGE may discuss its work with concerned Commission departments and may invite representatives of NGOs or representative organisations when appropriate for an exchange of views. The agenda for the EGE meetings will be distributed to relevant Commission services.

4. The EGE will normally meet at the Commission’s seat according to the modalities and the calendar fixed by the Commission. The EGE should meet at least six times during a 12-month period involving around 12 working days a year. Members are expected to attend a minimum of four meetings a year.

5. For the purposes of preparing its opinions and within the limits of the available resources for this action, the EGE:

• may invite experts having a specific competence, to guide and inform the work of the EGE if this is deemed useful and/or necessary,

• may initiate studies in order to collect all necessary scientific and technical information,

• may set up working groups to consider specific issues,

• shall organise a public round table in order to promote dialogue and improve transparency for each opinion that it produces,

• shall establish close links with the Commission departments involved in the topic the Group is working on,

• may establish closer links with representatives of the various ethics bodies in the European Union and in the applicant countries.

6. Every opinion shall be published immediately after its adoption. Where an opinion is not adopted unanimously, it shall include any dissenting point of view. Where there is an operational requirement for advice to be given more quickly on a particular subject, short statements will be produced, to be followed if necessary by a fuller analysis, while ensuring that transparency is respected as for any other opinion. EGE opinions always refer to the state of the art of the technology at the time the opinion is issued. The EGE may decide to update opinions if it deems it necessary.

7. The EGE shall adopt its own rules of procedure.

8. A report on the EGE’s activities shall be produced under the responsibility of the chairperson before the end of its term of office. The report shall be published.