Access to EUCI by experts participating in checks, reviews or audits
Article 7
1. Where external persons (‘experts’) are involved in checks, reviews or audits conducted by the granting authority or in performance reviews of the beneficiaries that require access to information classified CONFIDENTIEL UE/EU CONFIDENTIAL or SECRET UE/EU SECRET, they shall be provided with a contract only if they have been security cleared at the relevant level by the respective NSA or DSA or any other competent security authority. The granting authority, through the Commission security authority, shall check and, where necessary, ask the NSA or DSA to initiate the vetting process for experts at least six months prior to the start of their respective contracts. 2. Before signing their contracts, the experts shall be briefed on the applicable security rules for protecting EUCI, and shall have acknowledged their responsibilities with regard to protecting such information.