EUROPEAN COMMISSION CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST FOR THE SELECTION OF EXPERTS FOR THE STAKEHOLDER GROUP OF THE "REFIT PLATFORM"

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1 EUROPEAN COMMISSION Secretariat-General Brussels, CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST FOR THE SELECTION OF EXPERTS FOR THE STAKEHOLDER GROUP OF THE "REFIT PLATFORM" 1. BACKGROUND On 19 May the Commission adopted a Communication entitled 'Better regulation for better results - An EU agenda' 1. In this context the Commission decided to set up a 'REFIT Platform' 2 (hereinafter 'the Platform'). The task of the Platform is to: invite and collect suggestions from all available sources on regulatory and administrative burden reduction, arising from Union legislation and its implementation in Member States, particularly in view of the needs and interests of micro-enterprises and small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs); assess the merits of the collected suggestions in terms of their potential to reduce regulatory and administrative burden without endangering the achievement of the objectives of the legislation and, where appropriate, provide supplementary remarks on the suggestions; forward for comments those suggestions considered to merit most attention, as well as any supplementary remarks, to the Commission services concerned or, as the case may be, to the Member State concerned; respond to each person making a suggestion and rendering public the suggestions it receives, the supplementary remarks and the comments received from the Commission services or Member State concerned. The Commission services may consult the Platform on any matter relating to its better regulation work and the REFIT Programme 3 and may, in particular, ask both groups for information and evidence to allow measurement of the prospective impact of REFIT proposals or the impact of the application of initiatives taken under REFIT COM(2015) COM(2015) 3261 and C(2015) Copies attached. SWD(2012) 746. Commission européenne/europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel Office: BERL - Tel. direct line

2 The Platform is composed of two groups, one for Member State experts ("government group") and one for representatives of the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, business, social partners and civil society organisations having direct experience in the application of Union legislation ("stakeholder group"). This is a call for expressions of interest in membership of the stakeholder group from business, including from SMEs, and from social partners and civil society organisations having direct experience in the application of Union legislation. 2. FEATURES OF THE REFIT PLATFORM 2.1. STRUCTURE The First Vice-President will chair the Platform and preside over an annual joint meeting of both groups (the government and stakeholder group). The chair of the Regulatory Scrutiny Board (RSB) will act as his deputy and chair separate meetings of the two groups. If the chair of the RSB is not able to chair a group meeting, the First Vice-President will designate a senior official as replacement. In agreement with the chair of the Platform, the groups may set up working parties to examine specific issues and determine its terms of reference. Working parties shall be dissolved as soon as their mandate is fulfilled. The chair may, on an ad hoc basis, invite experts from outside the Platform with specific competence in a subject on the agenda to participate in the work of either group or of any working party. The groups shall adopt, in agreement with the chair of the Platform, their rules of procedure based on the standard rules of procedure for expert groups TERMS OF APPOINTMENT For the government group, the Commission will invite each Member State to nominate a high-level expert from its public administration. For the stakeholder group the Commission will appoint a high level expert on better regulation nominated by each of the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions as their representative. The remaining members of the group will be appointed by the Commission, on a proposal from the First Vice-President, from applicants from business, including from SMEs, and from social partners and civil society organisations who have responded to this call for applications and have direct experience in the application of Union legislation. The appointments will ensure, to the extent possible, a balanced representation of the various sectors, interests and regions of the Union and gender. 4 Communication from the President to the Commission: Framework for Commission expert groups: horizontal rules and public register C(2010) 7649 final. 2

3 The members of both groups will be appointed for the duration of the Platform mandate, i.e. until 31 October 2019 and shall remain members of the Platform until the end of their term of office or until they are replaced or resign. Members who resign, or who in the course of their mandate are considered no longer to comply with the conditions that established their selection or who infringe the obligations deriving from their function, shall cease to be members and may be replaced for the remainder of their term of office CONFIDENTIALITY The members, as well as their representatives and invited experts, shall comply with the obligations of professional secrecy laid down by the Treaties and in their implementing rules. They shall also comply with the Commission's security rules for protecting European Union Classified Information (EUCI) and sensitive non-classified information, as set out in Commission Decisions (EU, Euratom) 2015/443 5 and 2015/ If these obligations are not met, the Commission may take all appropriate measures TRANSPARENCY The group members names will be published in the Register of Commission expert groups and other similar entities (hereinafter 'the Register'). Personal data will be collected in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data. The Commission shall make public all relevant documents, such as agendas, minutes and members submissions, on the activities carried out by the Platform via a link from the Register to a dedicated website. 3. FEATURES OF THE STAKEHOLDER GROUP 3.1. COMPOSITION The stakeholder group will consist of up to 20 experts, two of them nominated by the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. In accordance with the Commission rules on expert groups, the remaining members from business, including from SMEs, and from social partners and civil society organisations having regulatory policy experience and direct experience in the application of Union legislation shall be: individuals appointed in a personal capacity; they shall commit to act independently and in the public interest; 5 6 Commission Decision (EU, Euratom) 2015/443 of 13 March 2015 on Security in the Commission (OJ L 72, , p. 41). Commission Decision (EU, Euratom) 2015/444 of 13 March 2015 on the security rules for protecting EU classified information (OJ L 72, , p. 53). 3

4 or individuals appointed to represent a common interest shared by stakeholders in a particular policy area; they shall not represent an individual stakeholder ATTENDANCE AT MEETINGS Applicants for membership of the stakeholder group should be prepared to attend meetings systematically in order to contribute and suggest items to the agenda of the group, to participate actively in discussions in the group, to examine and provide comments on documents under discussion, and to act, as appropriate, as rapporteurs on an ad hoc basis. Once a year, both groups shall discuss and evaluate the activities of the Platform in a joint meeting chaired by the First Vice-President. The frequency of stakeholder group meetings will depend on the input and proposals received but one meeting of the Platform and two meetings of the stakeholder group per year is foreseen as a minimum. The group (and any working party) shall meet on Commission premises in accordance with expert meeting procedures, unless exceptionally decided otherwise by the chair of the Platform APPLICATION PROCEDURE Interested applicants are required to submit their applications to the European Commission. Each application must be completed in one of the official languages of the European Union. Applications in English are welcome. If another language is used, it would be desirable to include a summary of the CV in English. Each application must clearly indicate whether the application is made for an individual to be appointed in their personal capacity or to represent a common interest shared by stakeholders (see Annex 1). Applications must clearly indicate the applicant s nationality and include the necessary documentation. An application will be deemed admissible only if it is sent by the deadline referred to in paragraph 3.4 and includes the documents referred to in paragraph 3.5. All the documents mentioned under 3.5 will be used in the selection procedure and should be duly filled in, legible, signed and numbered sequentially. Supporting documents (e.g. publications) may be requested at a later stage DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS The duly signed applications must be sent by 01 September 2015 at the latest. The date of sending will be established as follows: 7 Commission Communication establishing the framework for Commission expert groups C(2010)7649 / SEC(2010)

5 Where applications are sent by to the following address: the date of the will be the date of sending. Where applications are sent by post to the following address: European Commission, Secretariat-General, Unit C1 secretariat, 1049 Brussels, Belgium; the postmark will be considered the date of sending. Where applications are hand-delivered to the following address: European Commission, Secretariat-General, Unit C1 secretariat, 1049 Brussels, Belgium; the date on the receipt given upon delivery will be considered the date of sending SUPPORTING EVIDENCE Each application shall include the following supporting document: A cover letter explaining the motivation for answering this call; A declaration form (Annex 1); A curriculum vitae (CV), preferably not exceeding three pages, where applicants must document their professional experience and expertise in full. All CVs should be submitted in the European format (see Annex 2): The following information should also be included: The organisation for which the applicant is working, the length of time he/she has worked there, and the position and level of responsibility held there; Other organisations, for which he/she has worked in the past; His/her specific competences, notably in relation to regulatory policy, the application and implementation of EU law; The specific projects and or tasks he/she has been involved in; Any works that he/she has published on regulatory policy; Any experience he/she has acquired at EU and international level; His/her major professional challenges foreseen in the near future; Any interests that he/she has, which may prejudice his or her independence. 4. SELECTION PROCEDURE The selection procedure will consist of an assessment of the applications against the criteria set out below, followed by the establishment of a list of most suitable applicants, and concluded by the appointment of the members of the stakeholder group. The Secretariat-General shall establish a reserve list of suitable candidates that may be used to appoint replacements. Information on the results of the call for applications will be published on a dedicated website and a link from the Register of expert groups to this website will also be provided SELECTION CRITERIA The First Vice-President will take the following criteria into account when assessing applications: 5

6 Proven and relevant competence and experience of the applicants in the regulatory policy and implementation and application of EU law; Proven capacity of the applicants to represent effectively the position shared by stakeholders (social partners, small and large businesses, and business, consumer, health and environmental organisations, including nongovernmental organisations); In addition, members of the stakeholder group must be nationals of a Member State of the European Union or a state which has signed an association agreement. In the selection process the Commission will also endeavour to strike a balance in terms of representativeness of applicants, gender and geographical origin, taking account of the specific tasks of the expert group and the type of expertise required. 5. LOGISTICAL AND OPERATIONAL ASPECTS Meetings of the groups and any working party shall be held on Commission premises unless exceptionally decided otherwise by the chair of the Platform. The Secretariat General shall provide secretarial services. Commission officials with responsibilities in the matters to be discussed may attend meetings of the platform. Travel and subsistence expenses incurred by participants in the activities of the group shall be reimbursed by the Commission in accordance with the provisions in force at the Commission within the limits of the available budgetary appropriations. Members will receive no remuneration for their duties. The first meeting of the REFIT Platform is planned provisionally for 19 and 20 November For any further information please contact Ms Daphne Von Buxhoeveden. Telephone: ( ), Daphne.VON-BUXHOEVEDEN@ec.europa.eu. 6