Article 2
Data-protection Secretary 1. The data-protection secretariat shall be headed by a data-protection secretary whose independence in the performance of his tasks shall be safeguarded, subject only to instructions from the joint supervisory bodies and their chairmen. The Deputy Secretary-General of the Council, acting on a proposal by the joint supervisory bodies, shall appoint the data-protection secretary for a period of three years. The data-protection secretary may be reappointed. 2. The data-protection secretary shall be chosen from among the persons who are European Union citizens, have full civil and political rights, can bring to bear appropriate experience and expertise in the performance of the duties concerned, and offer every guarantee of independence. He shall refrain from any action incompatible with his duties and, during his term of office, not engage in any other occupation, whether gainful or not. He shall, after his term of office, behave with integrity and discretion as regards the acceptance of appointments and benefits. 3. The data-protection secretary shall be removed from office by the Deputy Secretary-General of the Council, acting on a proposal from the joint supervisory bodies, if he no longer fulfils the conditions required for the performance of his duties or if he has been guilty of serious misconduct. 4. Apart from normal replacement on expiry of his term of office or in the event of his death and removal from office in accordance with paragraph 3, the office of the data-protection secretary shall end when his resignation takes effect. In the case of the expiration of his term of office and in the case of his resignation, he shall at the request of the joint supervisory bodies remain in office until he has been replaced. 5. The data-protection secretary shall, both during and after termination of his term of office, be subject to a duty of professional secrecy with regard to the confidential information which has come to his knowledge in the course of the performance of his duties. 6. During his term of office, the data-protection secretary shall, except where otherwise stated in this Decision, be subject to the rules applicable to persons having the status of a temporary agent within the meaning of Article 2(a) of the Conditions of employment of other servants of the European Communities(7), including Articles 12 to 15 and 18 of the Protocol on Privileges and Immunities of the European Communities. The data-protection secretary shall be in grade A, the level and step at which he is employed shall be determined by the criteria applicable to the officials and other agents of the Communities. If the person appointed is already an official of the Communities, he shall be seconded for the term of his office in the interest of the service by virtue of Article 37(a), first indent, of the Staff Regulations of officials of the European Communities (Staff Regulations)(8). The first sentence of the last paragraph of Article 37 of the Staff Regulations shall apply without prejudice to paragraph 1 of this Article.