Commission Decision (EU) 2023/2109 of 10 October 2023 establishing a Commission expert group on the human dimension of the single European sky and repealing Decision C(2017) 7518

• CELEX: Decision (EU) 2023/2109
• Articles: 15

Article 1 Subject matter

The Commission expert group on the human dimension of the single European sky (‘the group’) is hereby established.

Article 2 Tasks

The group’s tasks shall be:

(a)

to provide expert advice to the Commission on the implementation of the single European sky as regards measures that have significant human dimension implications;

(b)

to facilitate cooperation and coordination between the Commission and relevant stakeholders on questions relating to the implementation of Union legislation, programmes and policies on the single European sky, notably its human dimension;

(c)

to ensure an exchange of expertise, experience and good practice among members as regards the human dimension of the single European sky.

Article 3 Membership

1.   Members shall be individuals appointed in a personal capacity and organisations with knowledge and experience on the human dimension of the single European sky.

2.   Members appointed in a personal capacity shall act independently and in the public interest.

3.   Organisations shall nominate their representatives and shall be responsible for ensuring that their representatives provide a high level of expertise.

4.   Members who are no longer capable of contributing effectively to the expert group’s deliberations, who, in the opinion of the Commission’s Directorate-General Mobility and Transport (‘DG MOVE’), do not comply with the conditions set out in Article 339 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union or who resign, shall no longer be invited to participate in any meetings of the group and may be replaced for the remainder of their term of office.

Article 4 Selection process

1.   The selection of the group’s members shall be carried out via a public call for applications, to be published on the Register of Commission expert groups and other similar entities (‘the Register of expert groups’). In addition, the call for applications may be published through other means, including on dedicated websites. The call for applications shall clearly outline the selection criteria, including the required expertise and the interests to be represented in relation to the work to be performed. The minimum deadline for applications shall be four weeks.

2.   Individuals applying to be appointed as members of the group in a personal capacity shall disclose any circumstances that could give rise to a conflict of interest. In particular, the Commission shall require those individuals to submit a declaration of interests (‘DOI’) form on the basis of the standard DOI form for expert groups  ( 7 ) , together with an updated curriculum vitae (CV), as part of their application. Submission of a duly completed DOI form shall be necessary in order to be eligible to be appointed as a member in a personal capacity. The conflict of interest assessment shall be performed in compliance with the Commission’s horizontal rules on expert groups (‘the horizontal rules’)  ( 8 ) .

3.   Registration in the Transparency Register is required in order for organisations to be appointed.

4.   The members of the group shall be appointed by the Director- General of DG MOVE from applicants with competence in the areas referred to in Article 2 and who have responded to the call for applications.

5.   Members shall be appointed for 5 years. They shall remain in office until the end of their term of office or until replaced. Their term of office may be renewed.

6.   DG MOVE may establish a reserve list of suitable candidates that may be used to appoint members’ replacements. DG MOVE shall ask applicants for their consent before including their names on the reserve list.

Article 5 Chair

The group shall elect a Chairperson and a Vice-Chairperson from amongst its members by simple majority for a period of 1 year, renewable once.

Article 6 Operation

1.   The group shall act at the request of its chairperson, with the agreement of DG MOVE, and in compliance with the horizontal rules and the rules of procedure of the group  ( 9 ) .

2.   Meetings of the group shall, in principle, be held on Commission premises or virtually, depending on the circumstances.

3.   Officials from DG MOVE shall attend the meetings and ensure support and secretarial services  ( 10 ) . Officials from other Commission departments with an interest in the proceedings may also attend.

4.   In agreement with DG MOVE, the group may, by simple majority of its members, decide that deliberations shall be public.

5.   Minutes on the discussion on each point on the agenda and on the opinions delivered by the group shall be meaningful and complete. Minutes shall be drafted by the secretarial services under the responsibility of the Chair.

6.   Where possible, the group shall adopt its opinions, recommendations or reports by consensus. In the event of a vote, the outcome of the vote shall be decided by simple majority of the members. Members that voted against or abstained shall have the right to summarise the reasons for their position in a written annex to the opinions, recommendations or reports.

Article 7 Sub-groups

1.   DG MOVE may set up sub-groups for the purpose of examining specific questions on the basis of terms of reference defined by DG MOVE. Sub-groups shall operate in compliance with the horizontal rules and shall report to the group. They shall be dissolved as soon as their mandate is fulfilled.

2.   The members of sub-groups that are not members of the group shall be selected via a public call for applications, in compliance with Article 5 and the horizontal rules.

Article 8 Invited experts

DG MOVE may invite non-member experts with specific expertise with respect to a subject matter on the agenda to take part in the work of the group on an ad hoc basis. They shall not have voting rights.

Article 9 Observers

1.   Individuals, organisations and public entities other than Member States’ authorities may be granted an observer status, in compliance with the horizontal rules, by direct invitation by the DG MOVE.

2.   Organisations and public entities appointed as observers shall nominate their representatives.

3.   Observers and observers’ representatives may be permitted by the Chair to take part in the discussions of the group and its sub-groups and provide expertise. However, they shall not have voting rights and shall not participate in the formulation of recommendations or advice of the group and its sub-groups.

Article 10 Rules of procedure

On a proposal by and in agreement with DG MOVE the group shall adopt its rules of procedure by simple majority of its members, on the basis of the standard rules of procedure for expert groups, in compliance with the horizontal rules. Sub-groups shall operate in compliance with the group’s rules of procedure.

Article 11 Professional secrecy and handling of classified information

The group members and their representatives, as well as invited experts and observers, are subject to the obligation of professional secrecy, which by virtue of the Treaties and the rules implementing them applies to all members of the institutions and their staff, and to the Commission’s rules on security regarding the protection of Union classified information, as laid down in Commission Decisions (EU, Euratom) 2015/443  ( 11 ) and 2015/444  ( 12 ) . Should they fail to respect these obligations, the Commission may take all appropriate measures.

Article 12 Transparency

1.   The group and its sub-groups shall be registered in the Register of Commission expert groups and other similar entities (‘the Register of expert groups’).

2.   As concerns the group and sub-groups composition, the following data shall be published on the Register of expert groups:

—

the name of individuals appointed in a personal capacity;

—

the name of member organisations; the interest represented shall be disclosed;

—

the name of observers.

3.   All relevant documents, including the agendas, the minutes and the participants’ submissions, shall be made available on the Register of expert groups. In particular, the agenda and other relevant background documents shall be published in due time ahead of the meeting, followed by timely publication of minutes. Exceptions to publication shall only be possible where it is deemed that disclosure of a document would undermine the protection of a public or private interest as defined in Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council  ( 13 ) .

Article 13 Meeting expenses

1.   Participants in the activities of the group and sub-groups shall not be remunerated.

2.   The Commission shall reimburse travel and, where appropriate, subsistence expenses incurred by participants in group meetings in accordance with Commission Decision C(2007) 5858  ( 14 ) and upon prior agreement by DG MOVE. Reimbursement shall be made in accordance with the provisions in force in the Commission and within the limits of the available appropriations allocated to the Commission departments under the annual procedure for the allocation of resources.

Article 14 Repeal

The Decision C(2017) 7518 of 21 November 2017 establishing an expert group on the human dimension of the single European sky is repealed on 15 February 2024.

Article 15

This Decision shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union .