Council Regulation (EC) No 72/2008 (repealed)Show full title

Article 7 Executive Director

1. The Executive Director shall be the chief executive responsible for the day-to-day management of the ENIAC Joint Undertaking in accordance with the decisions of the governing board and its legal representative. He/she shall perform his/her tasks with complete independence and shall be accountable to the governing board. The executive director shall exercise, in respect of the staff, the powers laid down in Article 7(2) of this Regulation.

2. The Executive Director shall be appointed by the governing board for a period of three years, following a call for expression of interest published in the Official Journal of the European Union and in other publicly accessible periodicals or Internet sites. After an evaluation of the executive director's performance, the governing board may extend the term of office once for a further period of not more than four years.

3. The role and tasks of the Executive Director shall be:

(a) to prepare the annual implementation plan referred to in Article 19(3) and the annual budget plan, in collaboration with the industry and research committee, and submit them to the governing board for approval, in accordance with Article 18;

(b) to oversee the organisation and execution of all activities needed to carry out the annual implementation plan within the framework and the rules laid down by these statutes and subsequent decisions adopted by the governing board and the public authorities board;

(c) to prepare the annual activity report and the annual accounts referred to in Article 19(4) and balance sheets as referred to in Article 18(5) and submit them to the governing board for approval;

(d) to present proposals on the internal functioning of the ENIAC Joint Undertaking to the governing board for approval;

(e) to present proposals on the rules of procedure for calls for proposals launched by the ENIAC Joint Undertaking, including the associated project proposal evaluation and selection process to the public authorities board for approval;

(f) to manage the launch of calls for proposals, the process of evaluating and selecting project proposals and negotiating grant agreements for selected proposals, and the subsequent periodic monitoring and follow-up of projects within the mandate given by the public authorities board;

(g) to conclude grant agreements for the implementation of the R & D activities as referred to in Articles 12 and 13, and service and supply contracts necessary for the operations of the ENIAC Joint Undertaking as referred to in Article 20;

(h) to authorise all payments due by the ENIAC Joint Undertaking;

(i) to establish and implement the necessary measures and actions for assessing the progress of the ENIAC Joint Undertaking towards achieving its objectives, including independent monitoring and auditing to assess the effectiveness and performance of the ENIAC Joint Undertaking;

(j) to organise project reviews and technical audits for the assessment of research and development results, and to report to the governing board on the overall results;

(k) to carry out financial audits, directly or through the national public authorities, on project participants as necessary, in compliance with the financial rules of the ENIAC Joint Undertaking;

(l) to negotiate the conditions for accession of new members of the ENIAC Joint Undertaking, on behalf of and within the mandate of the governing board;

(m) to carry out any other necessary action for the successful achievement of the ENIAC Joint Undertaking's objectives not provided for in the annual implementation plan referred to in Article 19(3), within any limits and conditions established by the governing board;

(n) to convene and/or organise meetings of the governing board and of the public authorities board and to attend where appropriate these meetings as an observer;

(o) to provide the governing board with any information requested by it;

(p) to submit to the governing board his proposal(s) concerning the organisation structure of the Secretariat;

(q) to perform risk assessment and risk management analysis and to propose to the governing board any insurance that it may be necessary for the ENIAC Joint Undertaking to take out in order to meet its obligations.

4. A secretariat under the responsibility of the executive director shall be established to provide support to all his/her tasks, including:

(a) secretarial support for the bodies of the ENIAC Joint Undertaking;

(b) operational support for evaluating proposals and monitoring projects, including support in organising calls for proposals and arranging for project reviews and technical audits;

(c) establishment and management of an appropriate internal audit and accounting system;

(d) financial tasks, including payments of financial contributions from the ENIAC Joint Undertaking to participants in projects;

(e) support for communication activities such as public relations, publication and dissemination activities and organisation of events;

(f) managing invitations to tender for ENIAC Joint Undertaking goods/services requirements according to the financial rules of the ENIAC Joint Undertaking.

5. Non-financial tasks of the secretariat may be contracted by the ENIAC Joint Undertaking to external service providers. Such contracts shall be established in accordance with the provisions of the financial rules of the ENIAC Joint Undertaking.