Ethical principles
Article 9
1. Independence Members of the Committee shall undertake to act independently of any external influence. They shall not delegate their responsibilities to any other person. They shall make a declaration of commitment to act in the public interest and to declare either the absence or existence of any direct or indirect interest which might be considered prejudicial to their independence. The Commission services will take note of and decide on the relevance of any declared interests. 2. Transparency The Committee shall ensure that its Recommendations and Opinions clearly present the reasoning used in its decision-making process, as outlined in its methodology. 3. Confidentiality Without prejudice to Article 339 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and Article 12 of this Decision, the members of the Committee shall not divulge information coming to their knowledge as a result of the work of the Committee, thematic workshops, working groups or other activities related to this Decision. A written declaration of confidentiality shall be signed by the members of the Committee at the beginning of each term of office.