Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2016/786Show full title

CHAPTER II U.K. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE INDEPENDENT ADVISORY PANEL

Article 4 U.K. Appointment

1. The panel shall consist of six members.

2. The Director-General for Health and Food Safety acting on behalf of the Commission (‘the Director-General’) shall appoint the members of the panel from a list of suitable candidates established following publication of a call for applications on the Commission's website and in the Register of Commission expert groups and other similar entities (‘Register of expert groups’). The members shall be selected on the basis of their expertise and experience in the fields of sensory, statistical and chemical analysis, and with due regard to the need to ensure independence and absence of conflicts of interests.

3. Persons on the list of suitable candidates who are not appointed to the panel shall be included in a reserve list of suitable candidates to replace members whose membership has ceased in accordance with Article 5(3). The Director-General shall ask applicants for their consent before including their names on the reserve list.

4. The list of panel members shall be published in the Register of expert groups and be made available on the relevant Commission website.

Article 5 U.K. Terms of office

1. The members of the panel shall be appointed for a renewable term of five years.

2. If, at the end of a term, the renewal or replacement of the panel has not been confirmed, the existing members shall remain in office.

3. An individual shall cease to be a member of the panel if:

(a) he or she dies or becomes incapacitated to such an extent that he or she is incapable of performing his or her functions under this Decision;

(b) he or she resigns;

(c) the Director-General suspends his or her membership pursuant to paragraph 5, in which case he or she shall cease to be a member for the duration of the suspension; or

(d) the Director-General terminates his or her membership pursuant to paragraph 5.

4. A member wishing to resign shall notify the Director-General by e-mail or registered post, giving at least six months' notice. Where he or she is in a position to execute his or her tasks and a replacement process is ongoing, he or she may, at the request of the Director-General, remain in office until the replacement is confirmed.

5. The Director-General may temporarily suspend or permanently terminate the membership of a member where it has been found, or there are reasonable grounds to consider, that:

(a) the member no longer complies with, or has acted in breach of, the conditions set out in this Decision or in Article 339 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;

(b) the member no longer complies with one or more essential conditions set out in the call for applications, or with the principles of independence, impartiality and confidentiality referred to in Article 16, or that the member's conduct or position is incompatible with declarations made in accordance with Articles 16, 17 and 18;

(c) the member is incapable of performing his or her tasks under this Decision;

(d) other significant factors are putting the functioning of the panel into question.

6. Where the membership of a member has ceased in accordance with paragraph 3, the Director-General shall appoint a replacement for the remainder of the term or for the period of the temporary suspension. The Commission shall launch a new call for applications once the reserve list is exhausted.