Membership – Appointment
Article 3
1. The members of the group, ‘members’, shall be appointed by the Commission from specialists with competence in the areas referred to in Article 2(2) and who have responded to the call for an expression of interest. 2. The group shall be composed of a maximum of 20 members. 3. The members shall be appointed in a personal capacity and shall advise the Commission independently of any outside influence. 4. Members shall be appointed for a four-year non-renewable term of office. However, with regards to the first appointment of members only, half of the members shall be appointed for a two-year non-renewable term of office. Members shall remain in office until such time as they are replaced or their term of office ends. 5. Members who are no longer capable of contributing effectively to the group’s deliberations, who resign or who do not respect the conditions set out in paragraph 3 of this Article, or Article 287 of the Treaty may be replaced for the remainder of their term of office. 6. Members appointed in a personal capacity shall each year sign an undertaking to act in the public interest and a declaration indicating the absence or existence of any interest which may undermine their objectivity. 7. The names of members appointed in a personal capacity shall be published on the Internet site of the Health and Consumer Protection Directorate-General. The names of members shall be collected, processed and published in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001.