Proceedings
Article 4
1. The Board shall adopt its own rules of procedure, which shall be made public. 2. The Board’s annual report, referred to in Article 2(1)(a), shall be made public after submission to the European Parliament and to the Council. In addition, the Board may decide to publish any conclusion, partial conclusion or working document, provided that it has been communicated in advance to the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission (Eurostat) and any other body involved, with an adequate opportunity for response. 3. Without prejudice to Article 287 of the Treaty, Board members shall be required not to disclose information to which they have gained access through the Board’s proceedings if the Commission informs them that such information is justifiably of a confidential nature or that responding to a request for an opinion or a question raised would lead to the disclosure of such confidential information. 4. The Board shall be assisted by a secretariat, which shall be provided by the Commission but which must act independently thereof. The Board’s secretary shall be appointed by the Commission after consulting the Board. The secretary shall act on the instructions of the Board. 5. The expenses of the Board shall be included in the budgetary estimates of the Commission.