Regulation (EU) 2019/127 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

CHAPTER II U.K. ORGANISATION OF EUROFOUND

Article 3 U.K. Administrative and management structure

Eurofound's administrative and management structure shall comprise:

(a)

a Management Board;

(b)

an Executive Board;

(c)

an Executive Director.

Section 1 U.K. Management Board

Article 4 U.K. Composition of the Management Board

1. The Management Board shall be composed of:

(a) one member, representing the government, from each Member State;

(b) one member, representing the employers' organisations, from each Member State;

(c) one member, representing the employees' organisations, from each Member State;

(d) three members representing the Commission;

(e) one independent expert appointed by the European Parliament.

Each of the members referred to in points (a) to (d) shall have the right to vote.

The Council shall appoint the members referred to in points (a), (b) and (c) on the basis of candidates designated, respectively, by the Member States and European employers' and employees' organisations.

The Commission shall appoint the members referred to in point (d).

The responsible committee of the European Parliament shall appoint the expert referred to in point (e).

2. Each member of the Management Board shall have an alternate. The alternate shall represent the member in the member's absence. The alternates shall be appointed in accordance with paragraph 1.

3. Members of the Management Board and their alternates shall be designated and appointed on the basis of their knowledge in the field of social and work-related policies, taking into account their relevant skills such as managerial, administrative and budgetary skills and expertise in the area of Eurofound's core tasks, in order to carry out an effective oversight role. All parties represented on the Management Board shall endeavour to limit the turnover of their representatives, in order to ensure continuity of its work. All parties shall aim to achieve a balanced representation between women and men on the Management Board.

4. Each member and alternate shall sign a written statement at the time of taking office declaring that he or she is not in a situation of conflict of interests. Each member and alternate shall update his or her statement in the case of a change of circumstances with regard to any conflict of interests. Eurofound shall publish the statements and updates on its website.

5. The term of office of members and alternates shall be four years. That term shall be renewable. Upon expiry of their term of office or in the event of their resignation, members and alternates shall remain in office until their appointments are renewed or until they are replaced.

6. On the Management Board, the representatives of the governments, of the employers' organisations and of the employees' organisations shall each form a group. Each group shall designate a coordinator in order to enhance the efficiency of deliberations within and between the groups. The coordinators of the employers' and of the employees' groups shall be representatives of their respective European organisations and may be designated from among the appointed members of the Management Board. Coordinators who are not appointed members of the Management Board in accordance with paragraph 1 shall take part in Management Board meetings without the right to vote.

Article 5 U.K. Functions of the Management Board

1. The Management Board shall:

(a) provide the strategic orientations for Eurofound's activities;

(b) adopt each year, by a majority of two-thirds of members with the right to vote and in accordance with Article 6, Eurofound's programming document, containing Eurofound's multiannual work programme and its annual work programme for the following year;

(c) adopt, by a majority of two-thirds of the members with the right to vote, Eurofound's annual budget and exercise other functions in respect of that budget pursuant to Chapter III;

(d) adopt a consolidated annual activity report together with an assessment of Eurofound's activities, submit them by 1 July each year to the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors and make the consolidated annual activity report public;

(e) adopt the financial rules applicable to Eurofound in accordance with Article 17;

(f) adopt an anti-fraud strategy, proportionate to fraud risks taking into account the costs and benefits of the measures to be implemented;

(g) adopt rules for the prevention and management of conflicts of interests in respect of its members and independent experts, as well as of seconded national experts and other staff not employed by Eurofound as referred to in Article 20;

(h) adopt and regularly update the communication and dissemination plans based on an analysis of needs and reflect this in Eurofound's programming document;

(i) adopt its rules of procedure;

(j) exercise, in accordance with paragraph 2, with respect to Eurofound's staff, the powers of the Appointing Authority conferred by the Staff Regulations and the Authority Empowered to Conclude a Contract of Employment conferred by the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants (the ‘appointing authority powers’);

(k) adopt appropriate implementing rules to give effect to the Staff Regulations and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants in accordance with Article 110 of the Staff Regulations;

(l) appoint and, where relevant, extend the term of office of the Executive Director or remove him or her from office, in accordance with Article 19;

(m) appoint an Accounting Officer, subject to the Staff Regulations and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants, who shall be fully independent in the performance of his or her duties;

(n) adopt the rules of procedure of the Executive Board;

(o) establish and dissolve Advisory Committees in accordance with Article 12, and adopt their rules of procedure;

(p) monitor adequate follow-up to findings and recommendations stemming from the internal or external audit reports and evaluations, as well as from investigations of the European Anti-fraud Office (OLAF);

(q) authorise the establishment of cooperation arrangements with the competent authorities of third countries and with international organisations in accordance with Article 30.

2. The Management Board shall adopt, in accordance with Article 110 of the Staff Regulations, a decision based on Article 2(1) of the Staff Regulations and on Article 6 of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants, delegating relevant appointing authority powers to the Executive Director and setting out the conditions under which this delegation of powers can be suspended. The Executive Director shall be authorised to sub-delegate those powers.

Where exceptional circumstances so require, the Management Board may temporarily suspend the delegation of the appointing authority powers to the Executive Director and those sub-delegated by the Executive Director. In such cases the Management Board shall delegate them, for a limited period, to one of the representatives of the Commission whom it nominates or to a staff member other than the Executive Director.

Article 6 U.K. Multiannual and annual programming

1. Each year, the Executive Director shall, in accordance with point (f) of Article 11(5) of this Regulation, draw up a draft programming document containing a multiannual and an annual work programme in accordance with Article 32 of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1271/2013.

2. The Executive Director shall submit the draft programming document referred to in paragraph 1 to the Management Board. Following approval by the Management Board, the draft programming document shall be submitted to the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council no later than 31 January each year. The Executive Director shall submit any updated versions of that document in accordance with the same procedure. The Management Board shall adopt the programming document taking into account the Commission's opinion.

The programming document shall become definitive after final adoption of the general budget of the Union and if necessary shall be adjusted accordingly.

3. The multiannual work programme shall set out overall strategic programming including objectives, expected results and performance indicators, avoiding programming overlaps with other agencies. It shall also set out resource programming including multiannual budget and staff. It shall include a strategy for relations with third countries and international organisations in accordance with Article 30, the actions linked to this strategy, and a specification of associated resources.

4. The annual work programme shall be consistent with the multiannual work programme referred to in paragraph 3 and shall comprise:

(a) detailed objectives and expected results including performance indicators;

(b) a description of the actions to be financed, including planned measures that aim to increase efficiency;

(c) an indication of the financial and human resources allocated to each action, in accordance with the principles of activity-based budgeting and management;

(d) possible actions for relations with third countries and international organisations in accordance with Article 30.

It shall clearly indicate actions that have been added, changed or deleted in comparison with the previous financial year.

5. The Management Board shall amend the adopted annual work programme where a new activity is assigned to Eurofound. The Management Board may delegate the power to make non-substantial amendments to the annual work programme to the Executive Director.

Any substantial amendment to the annual work programme shall be adopted in accordance with the same procedure as the initial annual work programme.

6. The resource programming shall be updated annually. The strategic programming shall be updated where appropriate, and shall in particular address the outcome of the evaluation referred to in Article 28.

The assignment to Eurofound of a new activity for the purpose of fulfilling the tasks laid down in Article 2 shall be taken into account in its resource and financial programming, without prejudice to the powers of the European Parliament and the Council (the ‘budgetary authority’).

Article 7 U.K. Chairperson of the Management Board

1. The Management Board shall elect a Chairperson and three Deputy Chairpersons as follows:

(a) one from among the members representing the governments of the Member States;

(b) one from among the members representing the employers' organisations;

(c) one from among the members representing the employees' organisations; and

(d) one from among the members representing the Commission.

The Chairperson and the Deputy Chairpersons shall be elected by a majority of two-thirds of members of the Management Board with the right to vote.

2. The term of office of the Chairperson and the Deputy Chairpersons shall be one year. Their term of office shall be renewable. Where their membership of the Management Board ends at any time during their term of office, their term of office shall automatically expire on that date.

Article 8 U.K. Meetings of the Management Board

1. The Chairperson shall convene meetings of the Management Board.

2. The Executive Director shall take part in the deliberations, without the right to vote.

3. The Management Board shall hold one ordinary meeting a year. In addition, it shall meet on the initiative of its Chairperson, at the request of the Commission or at the request of at least one-third of its members.

4. The Management Board may invite any person whose opinion may be of interest to attend its meetings as an observer. Representatives of European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries which are parties to the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA Agreement) may attend the meetings of the Management Board as observers where the EEA Agreement provides for their participation in Eurofound's activities.

5. Eurofound shall provide the secretariat for the Management Board.

Article 9 U.K. Voting rules of the Management Board

1. Without prejudice to points (b) and (c) of Article 5(1), the second subparagraph of Article 7(1) and Article 19(7), the Management Board shall take decisions by a majority of members with the right to vote.

2. Each member with the right to vote shall have one vote. In the absence of a member with the right to vote, his or her alternate shall be entitled to exercise his or her right to vote.

3. The Chairperson shall take part in the voting.

4. The Executive Director shall take part in the deliberations, without the right to vote.

5. The Management Board's rules of procedure shall establish more detailed voting arrangements, in particular the circumstances in which a member may act on behalf of another member.

Section 2 U.K. Executive Board

Article 10 U.K. Executive Board

1. The Management Board shall be assisted by an Executive Board.

2. The Executive Board shall:

(a) prepare decisions to be adopted by the Management Board;

(b) monitor, together with the Management Board, adequate follow-up to the findings and recommendations stemming from the internal or external audit reports and evaluations, as well as from investigations of OLAF;

(c) without prejudice to the responsibilities of the Executive Director, as set out in Article 11, advise him or her, where necessary, in the implementation of the decisions of the Management Board, with a view to reinforcing supervision of administrative and budgetary management.

3. Where necessary, for reasons of urgency, the Executive Board may take certain provisional decisions on behalf of the Management Board, including on the suspension of the delegation of the appointing authority powers in accordance with the conditions referred to in Article 5(2) and on budgetary matters.

4. The Executive Board shall be composed of the Chairperson of the Management Board, the three Deputy Chairpersons, the coordinators of the three groups referred to in Article 4(6) and one representative of the Commission. Each group referred to in Article 4(6) may designate up to two alternates to attend the meetings of the Executive Board in the event that a member appointed by the relevant group is absent. The Chairperson of the Management Board shall also be the Chairperson of the Executive Board. The Executive Director shall take part in the meetings of the Executive Board without the right to vote.

5. The term of office of members of the Executive Board shall be two years. That term shall be renewable. The term of office of a member of the Executive Board shall end on the date on which his or her membership of the Management Board ends.

6. The Executive Board shall meet three times a year. In addition, it shall meet on the initiative of the Chairperson or at the request of its members. Following each meeting, the coordinators of the three groups referred to in Article 4(6) shall use best efforts to inform members of their own group of the content of the discussion in a timely and transparent manner.

Section 3 U.K. Executive Director

Article 11 U.K. Responsibilities of the Executive Director

1. The Executive Director shall be responsible for the management of Eurofound in accordance with the strategic direction set by the Management Board and shall be accountable to the Management Board.

2. Without prejudice to the powers of the Commission, the Management Board, and the Executive Board, the Executive Director shall be independent in the performance of the duties and shall neither seek nor take instructions from any government or any other body.

3. The Executive Director shall report to the European Parliament on the performance of his or her duties where invited to do so. The Council may invite the Executive Director to report on the performance of his or her duties.

4. The Executive Director shall be the legal representative of Eurofound.

5. The Executive Director shall be responsible for the implementation of the tasks assigned to Eurofound by this Regulation. In particular, the Executive Director shall be responsible for:

(a) the day-to-day administration of Eurofound, including exercising the powers entrusted to him or her in respect of staff matters, in accordance with Article 5(2);

(b) implementing decisions adopted by the Management Board;

(c) in accordance with the decision referred to in Article 5(2), taking decisions with regard to the management of human resources;

(d) taking into account the needs relating to Eurofound's activities and sound budgetary management, deciding on Eurofound's internal structures and, where necessary, their amendment;

(e) selecting and appointing the Deputy Director who shall support the Executive Director in carrying out Eurofound's functions and activities;

(f) preparing the programming document and submitting it to the Management Board after consulting the Commission;

(g) implementing the programming document and reporting to the Management Board on its implementation;

(h) preparing the consolidated annual report on Eurofound's activities and presenting it to the Management Board for assessment and adoption;

(i) establishing an effective monitoring system to enable the regular evaluations referred to in Article 28 to be carried out and a reporting system to summarise their results;

(j) preparing draft financial rules applicable to Eurofound;

(k) preparing Eurofound's draft statement of estimates of revenue and expenditure, as part of Eurofound's programming document; and implementing Eurofound's budget;

(l) preparing an action plan following-up conclusions of internal or external audit reports and evaluations, as well as investigations by OLAF and reporting on progress twice a year to the Commission and regularly to the Management Board and the Executive Board;

(m) aiming to ensure gender balance within Eurofound;

(n) protecting the financial interests of the Union by applying preventive measures against fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities, by effective checks and, if irregularities are detected, by recovering amounts wrongly paid and, where appropriate, by imposing effective, proportionate and dissuasive administrative and financial penalties;

(o) preparing an anti-fraud strategy for Eurofound and presenting it to the Management Board for approval;

(p) where relevant, cooperating with other Union agencies and concluding cooperation agreements with them.

6. The Executive Director shall also be responsible for deciding whether it is necessary for the purpose of carrying out Eurofound's tasks in an efficient and effective manner to establish a liaison office in Brussels to further Eurofound's cooperation with the relevant Union institutions. That decision shall require the prior consent of the Commission, the Management Board and the relevant Member State. That decision shall specify the scope of the activities to be carried out by that liaison office in a manner that avoids unnecessary costs and any duplication of Eurofound's administrative functions.

Section 4 U.K. Advisory committees

Article 12 U.K. Advisory Committees

1. The Management Board may establish Advisory Committees in line with the policy priority areas outlined in Eurofound's programming documents.

2. Advisory Committees shall be operational bodies established for the purpose of ensuring the quality of the research produced by Eurofound, as well as a wide ownership of the projects and of their results, by fostering participation in the implementation of Eurofound's programmes and providing advice and new inputs.

3. In liaison with the Management Board and the Executive Board, Advisory Committees shall carry out the following main functions related to research projects:

(a) giving advice on their design and implementation;

(b) monitoring progress in their implementation;

(c) evaluating their findings;

(d) advising on the dissemination of results.

4. The coordinators of the groups referred to in Article 4(6) shall oversee the nomination and participation of the members of the Advisory Committees in accordance with the Management Board's rules of procedure.

5. The Management Board may dissolve the Advisory Committees established pursuant to paragraph 1, in line with the priorities outlined in Eurofound's programming documents.