Membership — Appointment
Article 4
1. The expert group shall be composed of ten members. Its composition shall reflect an adequate geographical balance within the European Union. 2. The members of the expert group shall be appointed by the Commission from specialists: (a) with expertise in nutrition, epidemiology, public health and health promotion, behavioural and social sciences, evaluation; (b) with a suitable background to advise the Commission on the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the School Fruit Scheme; and (c) who have responded to a public call for applications. 3. The Commission may also establish a list of candidates that could not be appointed as permanent members of the expert group, although they were considered suitable for a position in the expert group in the course of the selection procedure. This list may be used for the appointment of alternate members of the expert group. 4. The members of the expert group shall be appointed in a personal capacity and shall advise the Commission independently of any outside influence. 5. Members of the expert group shall be appointed for a three-year renewable term of office and may not serve for more than three consecutive terms. They shall remain in office until such time as they are replaced in accordance with paragraph 6 or their term of office ends. 6. Members who are no longer capable of contributing effectively to the expert group’s deliberations, who resign or who do not comply with the conditions set out in paragraph 4 of this Article, or Article 339 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, may be replaced for the remainder of their term of office. 7. Members 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. They shall also declare before each meeting any specific interest which may be considered as prejudicial to their independence in relation to the items on the agenda. 8. The names of members and those included in the list referred to in paragraph 3 shall be published on the Internet site of the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development and in the Register of Expert Groups. These names shall be collected, processed and published in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001.