Scope
1. The rules established by this Decision apply to experts, who fulfil the conditions set out in Article 2, seconded to the GSC in the interest of the European Council and of the Council and who are either:
(a)
seconded national experts (‘SNEs’), which includes experts who are seconded:
(i)
by Member States' public administrations, at national or regional level;
(ii)
subject to authorisation by the GSC on a case-by-case basis, by an employer other than a Member State public administration, at national or regional level if the interests of the GSC warrant bringing in specific expertise as a temporary measure, provided that the employer:
—
is an independent university or research organisation which does not set out to make profits for redistribution, or
—
is part of the public sector as defined in the national law of that employer.
SNEs can be seconded on cost-free secondment (‘CFS’);
(b)
experts on CFS from a public intergovernmental organisation (‘IGO’) (with the exception of Union bodies within the meaning of Article 1a(2) of the Staff Regulations), in cases where a transfer of specific knowledge or expertise is required.
2. Articles 18, 19 and 20 are not applicable to any experts on CFS.
Conditions for secondment
To qualify for secondment to the GSC, experts shall:
(1)
have worked for their employer on a permanent or contract basis for at least 12 months before their secondment;
(2)
remain in the service of their employer throughout the period of secondment;
(3)
have at least three years' full-time experience of administrative, scientific, technical, advisory or supervisory functions relevant to the performance of the duties assigned to them. Before the secondment, the employer shall supply the GSC with a statement of the expert's employment covering the previous 12 months;
(4)
be nationals of a Member State.
By way of derogation from the first subparagraph of this point, experts who are non-Member State nationals may be seconded from an IGO; in such exceptional cases, the GSC shall ensure that there is no conflict of interest and that the independence and coherence of the GSC policies and activities is safeguarded;
(5)
have a thorough knowledge of one official language of the Union and a satisfactory knowledge of a second language for the performance of their duties.
Selection procedure
1. Experts shall be selected according to an open and transparent procedure, the practical details of which shall be decided in accordance with Article 32.
Without prejudice to Article 2(4), experts shall be seconded on as wide a geographical basis as possible from among the nationals of the Member States. The Member States and the GSC shall cooperate to ensure, as far as possible, a balance between men and women and observe the principle of equal opportunities.
2. A call for the expression of interest shall be sent to the Permanent Representations of the Member States or the IGO, as appropriate. The call shall indicate the descriptions of the posts, the selection criteria and the deadline for the submission of applications.
3. All applications shall be transmitted to the GSC via the Permanent Representation of the Member States or through the human resources department of the IGO.
4. In duly justified and exceptional circumstances in the interests of the European Council, the GSC may decide that an expert shall be selected without following the selection procedures set out in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3.
5. The secondment of experts shall be subject to the specific requirements and budgetary capacity of the GSC.
6. The GSC shall create an individual file for the expert. That file shall contain relevant administrative information.
Administrative procedure for secondment
1. Secondment shall be implemented by an Exchange of Letters between the Director-General for Administration of the GSC and the Permanent Representation of the Member State concerned or the IGO, as appropriate. The Permanent Representation shall also be notified of any secondment of own Member State nationals from IGOs. The place of secondment and the function group to which the expert will belong (AD or AST, as defined in the Staff Regulations) shall be indicated in the Exchange of Letters. The Exchange of Letters shall also mention the expert's superior within the Directorate-General, directorate, unit or department to which the expert is seconded, and a detailed description of the tasks the expert is to carry out. A copy of the rules applicable to the expert shall be attached to the Exchange of Letters.
2. Cost-free short-term secondment (‘CFSS’) of experts, as referred to in Chapter IV, may be authorised on a case-by-case basis. That authorisation shall take into consideration the expert's place of recruitment, the Directorate-General to which the expert shall be seconded, the geographical balance referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 3(1) and the duties proposed.
Period of secondment
1. The period of secondment shall be a minimum of six months and a maximum of two years. It may be renewed successively up to a total period not exceeding four years.
However, in exceptional cases, at the request of the relevant Director-General of the GSC and after prior agreement of the employer, the Director-General of Administration of the GSC may authorise one or more extensions of the secondment beyond the four-year maximum referred to in the first subparagraph, up to an additional two years.
2. The period of secondment shall be fixed at the outset in the Exchange of Letters provided for in Article 4(1). The same procedure shall apply in the case of any renewal or extension of the period of secondment.
3. An expert who has previously been seconded to the GSC may be seconded again, subject to the following conditions:
(a)
the expert continues to meet the conditions for secondment referred to in Article 2;
(b)
a period of at least six years has elapsed since the end of the previous period of secondment, including any renewal and extensions, or any subsequent employment contract with the GSC.
This provision shall not prevent the GSC from accepting the secondment, less than six years after the end of the previous period of secondment, of an expert whose previous secondment, including any renewals and extensions, lasted for less than six years, but in that case the new secondment shall not exceed the unexpired part of the latter six-year period.
Obligations of the employer
Throughout the period of secondment, the expert's employer shall continue to:
(1)
pay the expert's salary;
(2)
be responsible for all the expert's social rights, in particular those concerning social security, insurance and pension; and
(3)
subject to point (d) of Article 10(2), maintain the expert's administrative status as either a permanent official or a contract staff member and inform the Directorate-General for Administration of the GSC of any change in the expert's administrative status as either a permanent official or a contract staff member.
Duties
1. Experts shall assist GSC officials and other staff and carry out the tasks assigned to them.
The duties to be carried out by an expert shall be defined by mutual agreement between the GSC and the employer:
(a)
in the interest of the GSC department to which the expert is seconded; and
(b)
taking into account the expert's qualifications.
2. Tasks to be assigned to an expert may include among others analyses, studies, exchanges of knowledge between administrations, project management, and assistance to the GSC's groups and preparatory committees.
Notwithstanding the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 and the first subparagraph of this paragraph, the Secretary-General may, on a proposal from the Director-General of the department to which an expert is assigned, entrust the expert with specific duties and charge the expert with the conduct of one or more specific missions after verifying that there is no conflict of interest.
3. An expert shall take part in missions and meetings only:
(a)
if accompanying a GSC official or other staff member; or
(b)
if alone, as an observer or solely for information purposes.
Unless an expert has received a special mandate, in accordance with the arrangements for implementing this Decision, by the Director-General of the GSC department concerned, the expert shall not be able to commit the GSC externally.
4. The GSC shall retain sole responsibility for approving the results of tasks performed by the expert.
5. The GSC departments concerned, the expert's employer and the expert shall make every effort to avoid any actual or potential conflict of interest in relation to the expert's duties during secondment. To that end, the GSC shall, in good time, inform the expert and the employer of the intended duties and shall ask each of them to confirm in writing that they know of no reason why the expert should not be assigned to those duties.
The expert shall be asked in particular to declare any potential conflict between the expert's family circumstances (in particular the professional activities of close or extended family members, or any important financial interests of their own or of family members) and the proposed duties while on secondment.
The employer and the expert shall undertake to notify the GSC of any change of circumstances during the secondment which could give rise to any conflict of interest.
6. Where the GSC considers that the nature of the tasks entrusted to the expert requires particular security precautions, security clearance shall be obtained before the expert is seconded.
7. In the event of failure to comply with the provisions of paragraphs 2, 3 and 5 of this Article, the GSC may terminate the secondment of the expert under the terms of point (c) of Article 10(2).
Rights and obligations of experts
1. During the period of secondment an expert shall act with integrity. In particular:
(a)
the expert shall perform the duties assigned and otherwise behave with the interests solely of the European Council and the Council in mind.
In particular, the expert shall, in the exercise of their duties, not accept any instructions from, nor undertake any activities for, their employer, any government, or any other person, private company or public body;
(b)
the expert shall abstain from any action, and in particular any public expression of opinion, which may reflect on their position at the GSC;
(c)
any expert shall inform their superior where the expert, in the performance of their duties, is called upon to give a decision on the handling or outcome of a matter in which the expert has a personal interest that could impair their independence;
(d)
the expert shall not, whether alone or together with others, publish or cause to be published any text dealing with the work of the Union without obtaining permission in accordance with the conditions and rules in force at the GSC. Permission shall be refused only where the intended publication is liable to prejudice the interests of the Union;
(e)
all rights in any work done by an expert in the performance of the expert's duties shall be the property of the GSC;
(f)
the expert shall reside at the place of secondment or at no greater distance from that place than is compatible with the proper performance of the duties assigned;
(g)
the expert shall assist and tender advice to the superior to whom they are assigned and shall be responsible to their superior for the performance of the duties entrusted to them.
2. Both during and after the period of secondment, the expert shall exercise the greatest discretion with regard to all facts and information of which the expert becomes aware in the course of, or in connection with, the performance of their duties. The expert shall not in any form whatsoever disclose to any unauthorised person any document or information not already lawfully made public, nor shall the expert use it for personal gain.
3. At the end of the secondment, the expert shall continue to be bound by the obligations to act with integrity and discretion in the exercise of new duties and in accepting certain posts or advantages.
To that end, in the three years following the period of secondment the expert shall immediately inform the GSC of any duties or tasks which are likely to give rise to a conflict of interest in relation to the tasks carried out by the expert during the period of secondment.
4. The expert shall be subject to the security rules in force in the GSC, including data protection rules and GSC network protection rules. The expert shall also be subject to the rules governing the protection of the Union's financial interests.
5. Failure to comply with the provisions of paragraphs 1, 2 and 4 of this Article during the period of secondment shall entitle the GSC to terminate the secondment of an expert in accordance with point (c) of Article 10(2).
6. The expert shall immediately notify the expert's superior in writing if in the course of the secondment the expert becomes aware of facts which give rise to a presumption of the existence of:
(a)
possible illegal activity, including fraud or corruption, detrimental to the interests of the Union; or
(b)
conduct relating to the discharge of professional duties which may constitute a serious failure to comply with the obligations of officials of the Union or of experts.
This paragraph shall also apply in the event of serious failure to comply with a similar obligation on the part of a Member of an institution or any other person in the service of, or carrying out work for, an institution.
7. Where the superior receives notification as referred to in paragraph 6 of this Article, the superior shall take the measures provided for in Article 22a(2) of the Staff Regulations. Articles 22a, 22b and 22c of the Staff Regulations shall apply to the superior under the terms of Article 4(1) of this Decision. Those provisions shall also apply mutatis mutandis to the expert concerned, to ensure that the expert's rights are respected.
Suspension of secondment
1. At the written request of the expert or the employer, and with the latter's agreement, the GSC may authorise suspensions of secondment and specify the terms applicable. During a suspension:
(a)
the allowances referred to in Article 19 shall not be payable;
(b)
the expenses referred to in Article 20 shall be payable only if the suspension is at the GSC's request.
2. The GSC shall inform the employer and the Permanent Representation of the Member State concerned.
Termination of periods of secondment
1. Subject to paragraph 2, secondment may be terminated at the request of the GSC or of the employer, provided three months' notice is given. It may also be terminated at the expert's request provided the same notice is given and subject to the employer's and the GSC's agreement.
2. In certain exceptional circumstances the secondment may be terminated without notice:
(a)
by the employer, if the employer's essential interests so require;
(b)
by mutual agreement between the GSC and the employer, at the request of the expert to both parties, if the expert's essential personal or professional interests so require;
(c)
by the GSC in the event of failure by the expert to comply with the obligations set out in this Decision. The expert shall first be given an opportunity to submit observations;
(d)
by the GSC in the event of the termination of, or change in, the expert's administrative status as either a permanent official or a contract staff member of the employer. The expert shall first be given an opportunity to submit observations.
3. In the event of termination under point (c) of paragraph 2, the GSC shall immediately inform the employer and the Permanent Representation of the Member State concerned.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
