1.   There shall be a distributed research infrastructure called the ‘European Holocaust Research Infrastructure’, hereinafter referred to as ‘EHRI’.

2.   EHRI shall have the legal form of a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) incorporated under the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 723/2009 and be named ‘EHRI-ERIC’.

3.   EHRI-ERIC shall have its statutory seat in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

1.   The principal task of EHRI-ERIC shall be to establish and operate the EHRI to enable excellence in transnational Holocaust research, documentation, education and remembrance.

2.   EHRI-ERIC shall work closely with the scientific, archival and educational community. In pursuit of its principal task and in accordance with the provisions of these statutes, EHRI-ERIC shall undertake and coordinate the following activities:

3.   The EHRI-ERIC Central Office shall be responsible for coordinating the activities of EHRI-ERIC. EHRI-ERIC shall pursue all of its activities ethically and transparently and shall avoid potential organisational or personal conflicts of interest.

4.   EHRI-ERIC shall pursue its principal task on a non-economic basis, however, without prejudice to State aid applicable rules, it may carry out limited economic activities provided that they are closely related to its principal task and that they do not jeopardise the achievement thereof. Any income generated by such limited economic activities shall be used by EHRI-ERIC to further support its tasks and activities.

1.   EHRI-ERIC shall exist for an indefinite period of time.

2.   The winding up of EHRI-ERIC shall follow a decision of the General Assembly in accordance with Article 20(6)(i) of these statutes.

3.   Without undue delay and in any event within 10 working days after adoption of the decision to wind up, EHRI-ERIC shall notify the European Commission about the decision.

4.   Assets remaining after payment of EHRI-ERIC debts shall be apportioned among the Members in proportion to their accumulated annual contributions to EHRI-ERIC over the last five consecutive years prior to the year in which the decision to wind up has been taken.

5.   Without undue delay and in any event within 10 working days of the closure of the winding up procedure, EHRI-ERIC shall notify the European Commission thereof.

6.   EHRI-ERIC shall cease to exist on the day on which the European Commission publishes the appropriate notice in the Official Journal of the European Union.

1.   EHRI-ERIC shall be liable for its debts.

2.   The Members are not jointly liable for the debts of EHRI-ERIC.

3.   The Members’ financial liability for the debts of EHRI-ERIC shall be limited to their respective annual contribution in the last full year of operation.

4.   EHRI-ERIC shall take appropriate insurance to cover the risks specific to its operation.

1.   The activities and results of the EHRI-ERIC shall be evaluated every three years by an independent panel composed of international experts appointed by the General Assembly on a worldwide basis, without a requirement to be based in a Member or Observer country.

2.   The expert panel shall evaluate EHRI-ERIC’s scientific activities and shall transmit the results of the evaluation to the General Assembly.

3.   The National Coordinators Committee shall assist the panel in the conduct of the scientific evaluation by providing all the necessary information about the activities of the National Nodes.

1.   EHRI-ERIC shall grant its users physical and virtual access to Holocaust-relevant resources and expertise. Relevant resources and expertise may be hosted either by the Central Hub or by the National Nodes. In either case, users are provided with a single-entry point managed by the Central Hub.

2.   Whenever possible, access shall be provided on the basis of wide access - i.e. unrestricted, free and open to anyone. In cases where access has to be restricted for capacity reasons, selection shall be undertaken on the basis of excellence.

3.   Information about access opportunities, procedures and evaluation criteria shall be made publicly available on the EHRI-ERIC website.

4.   EHRI-ERIC's Access Policy shall be the object of a specific regulation document, subject to approval by the General Assembly.

1.   EHRI-ERIC shall be a facilitator of research and shall generally encourage as free access as possible to research data and results.

2.   EHRI-ERIC shall encourage users to make their research results available through the EHRI-ERIC repository and/or other repositories within a reasonable period and conforming to the FAIR Data principles (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability and Reusability) and within a reasonable period.

3.   EHRI-ERIC shall require its Users to acknowledge the use of EHRI-ERIC.

4.   EHRI-ERIC shall use the most appropriate and far-reaching channels to reach its target audiences, including a website, newsletters, media, social media, workshops, presence in conferences, articles in magazines and journals, and contributions to print, broadcast as well as other channels as may be appropriate.

1.   The term ‘intellectual property’ shall be understood in accordance with Article 2 of the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization signed on 14 July 1967.

2.   Subject to any contract between EHRI-ERIC and a third party, intellectual property rights created, obtained or developed by a third party shall be owned by that third party.

3.   Subject to any contract between EHRI-ERIC and a third party, intellectual property rights created, obtained or developed by EHRI-ERIC shall be owned by EHRI-ERIC.

4.   EHRI-ERIC may adopt any additional policy on intellectual property to be approved by the General Assembly.

1.   The selection procedure for EHRI-ERIC staff positions shall be transparent, non-discriminatory and respect equal opportunities.

2.   Employment contracts shall follow the national laws of the country in which staff is employed or in the country where they work, as may be determined by applicable law.

3.   Detailed rules of staff recruitment shall be set out in the implementing rules and shall be adopted by the General Assembly.

1.   EHRI-ERIC procurement policy shall respect the principles of transparency, non-discrimination and competition.

2.   EHRI-ERIC shall adopt its own procurement rules and procedures, to be approved by the General Assembly.

1.   The working language of EHRI-ERIC shall be English.

1.   The statutes shall be kept up to date and publicly available on the EHRI-ERIC website and at the statutory seat.

2.   Any amendment to the statutes shall be clearly indicated with a note specifying whether the amendment concerns an essential or non-essential element of the statutes in accordance with Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No 723/2009.

1.   The following entities may become Members of EHRI-ERIC or join as Observers without voting rights:

2.   Admission of new Members and Observers and the withdrawal and termination of membership and observership shall take place in accordance with Articles 14 and 15.

3.   The membership of EHRI-ERIC shall include at least one Member State and two other countries that are either Member States or Associated Countries.

4.   Member States or Associated Countries shall hold jointly the majority of the voting rights in the General Assembly. The General Assembly shall determine any modification of voting rights that are necessary to ensure that EHRI-ERIC complies at all times with this requirement.

5.   Any Member or Observer referred to in paragraph 1(a) to (c) may be represented by one or more public entities or private entities with a public service mission of its own choosing and appointed in accordance with its own rules and procedures. Each Member or Observer shall inform in writing the General Assembly of any change of its representing entities, of the specific rights and obligations which have been delegated to it or of any other relevant change.

6.   The Members and Observers of EHRI-ERIC and their representing entities are listed in Annex I. Annex I shall be kept up to date by the Central Office.

1.   Entities referred to in Article 13(1) willing to become Members of EHRI-ERIC shall submit a written application to the Chair of the General Assembly and to the Director. That application shall describe how the entity will contribute to EHRI-ERIC tasks and activities described in Article 2 and how it will fulfil the obligations referred to in Article 16(2).

2.   The admission of the entities as new Members shall be subject to the approval by the General Assembly, according to the voting rules described in Article 20(6)(c) and following the advice of the Advisory Board.

3.   Entities referred to in Article 13(1) who are willing to contribute to EHRI-ERIC, but are not yet in a position to join as Members, may apply for Observer status. These entities shall submit a written application to the Chair of the General Assembly and to the Director. That application shall describe how the applicant will contribute to EHRI-ERIC tasks and activities described in Article 2 and how it will fulfil the obligations referred to in Article 17(2).

4.   The admission of Observers or extension of Observer status shall be subject to the approval by the General Assembly, according to the voting rules described in Article 20(6)(c) and following the advice of the Advisory Board.

5.   Where the General Assembly votes to admit an applicant as an Observer, it shall be limited to a three-year period. Observers may apply once for an extension of their Observer status for the same duration.

6.   An entity that foresees a lasting participation in EHRI-ERIC, but is not in a position to become a Member, may in exceptional cases be granted the status of a Permanent Observer. Permanent Observers shall have the same rights and obligations as Members as provided for in Article 16, except for the right to vote at the General Assembly.

1.   A Member may not withdraw within the first five years of their membership unless exceptionally agreed otherwise by the General Assembly. Withdrawal shall be at the end of a financial year.

2.   Subject to 16(1), a Member may withdraw its membership at any time upon a 12 months’ prior written notice to the Chair of the General Assembly. Withdrawal will come into effect at the end of the next financial year in which a notice of withdrawal has been given, namely 31 December of the following year.

3.   EHRI-ERIC Observers may not withdraw within the first three years of their observership unless exceptionally agreed otherwise by the General Assembly. After the three-year period, an EHRI-ERIC Observer may withdraw at the end of a financial year by giving six months’ notice of withdrawal in writing to the Chair of the General Assembly.

4.   The General Assembly may terminate membership or observer status if the following conditions are met:

5.   The General Assembly shall define what constitutes a serious breach of an obligation in the rules of procedure.

6.   Members and Observers shall continue paying their membership or observer fees and to fulfil all financial and other obligations until withdrawal or termination becomes effective.

7.   Notwithstanding Article 15(1), Article 15(2) and Article 15(3), Members and Observers referred to in Article 13(1)(b) and (c), may withdraw from EHRI-ERIC following changes in Regulation (EC) No 723/2009 that would materially affect their rights and obligations in relation to EHRI-ERIC. Such changes are considered to materially affect their rights and obligations where they imply or impose on that specific member or observer:

The affected member or observer (which is not a Member State), may withdraw from EHRI-ERIC upon 6 months prior written notice to the Chair of the General Assembly.

1.   Members shall have a right:

2.   Each Member shall:

3.   The General Assembly may decide to suspend a Member’s voting rights if that Member is 12 months or more in arrears of meeting its obligations under Article 16(2)(d), until contributions have been paid in full.

1.   Observers shall have a right:

2.   Each Observer shall:

3.   The General Assembly may decide to suspend an Observer’s rights if that Observer is 12 months or more in arrears of meeting its obligations under Article 17(2)(b), until contributions have been paid in full.

1.   EHRI-ERIC may enter into cooperation agreements with Cooperating Partners in countries that are not Member or Observer of EHRI-ERIC.

2.   Cooperating Partners must to the satisfaction of the General Assembly contribute to fulfilling the tasks and activities of EHRI-ERIC.

3.   The cooperation agreement shall be concluded by the Director of EHRI-ERIC after approval by the General Assembly. The cooperation agreement shall establish the terms and conditions under which the Cooperating Partner may engage with EHRI-ERIC and commit to tasks and activities set out in Article 2.

1.   The governance structure of EHRI-ERIC shall consist of the following bodies:

2.   The General Assembly may establish additional committees as may be required for the proper functioning of EHRI-ERIC.

1.   The General Assembly shall be the highest governing body of EHRI-ERIC with full decision-making power. The General Assembly shall be composed of representatives of the Members and the Observers.

2.   Each Member shall nominate up to two representatives, but only one representative will carry the vote. Each Observer shall nominate up to two representatives, but with no voting rights. The representatives of the Members and Observers may be assisted by up to two experts.

3.   The General Assembly shall meet at least once per year in an ordinary meeting.

4.   The General Assembly shall be responsible for the overall direction and supervision of EHRI-ERIC in accordance with the provisions of these statutes and it shall decide on any matters which are necessary to fulfil the mission of EHRI-ERIC.

5.   On all items, the General Assembly shall use their best efforts to achieve consensus. If consensus cannot be achieved, the General Assembly shall make decisions in accordance with the voting system as defined in paragraphs 6, 7 and 8. Members abstaining from voting shall be counted as absent with no effect on the quorum required to constitute the meeting under Article 20(11).

6.   The following decisions shall require a two-thirds majority of the votes cast by the Members attending the meeting:

7.   The following decisions shall require unanimity of the votes cast by the Members attending the meeting:

When a decision on the changes to the Financial Model, Member and Observer contributions, the 5-year financial plan or amendments to EHRI-ERIC’s statutes cannot be reached at two consecutive ballots at separate meetings, the decision shall be taken with three-quarter majority at a third ballot organised at a consecutive meeting.

8.   All other matters not defined as requiring a two-third majority or unanimity of the votes cast shall be decided by simple majority of the votes cast.

9.   The General Assembly shall elect a Chair and a Vice-Chair among the representatives of the Members for a 3-year term, renewable for up to 3 years, once. The meetings of the General Assembly shall be convened by the Chair or in his/her absence by the Vice-Chair. The Chair and Vice-Chair shall have no extra voting rights.

10.   An extraordinary meeting of the General Assembly may be requested by at least half of the Members.

11.   A quorum of two-thirds of Members shall be required for having a valid General Assembly meeting. If there is no quorum, the meeting shall be repeated within one month following a new invitation, with the same agenda. In the repeat meeting there shall be a quorum if half of Members are present.

12.   Ordinary and extraordinary meetings of the General Assembly may be held in-person or virtually.

13.   When for reasons of urgency a specific decision cannot be postponed for the next ordinary or extraordinary meeting of the General Assembly, the Chair may submit a request for a decision by way of a written procedure.

14.   The General Assembly shall adopt its own rules of procedure.

1.   A Director shall be appointed by the General Assembly for a term of five years. The appointment may be renewed once for an additional period of up to five years.

2.   The Director shall be the chief executive officer and the legal representative of EHRI-ERIC.

3.   The Director shall appoint and dismiss the staff of the Central Office.

4.   The Director shall be responsible for:

1.   The General Assembly shall establish a National Coordinators Committee.

2.   Each National Node shall appoint one National Coordinator according to their own rules and procedures. The National Coordinator shall attend the meetings of the NCC on behalf of the National Node and represent all institutions involved in the National Node.

3.   The NCC shall elect a Chair and a Vice-Chair among its Members for a period of three years, not renewable.

4.   The NCC shall:

5.   The rules of procedure of the NCC shall be approved by the General Assembly.

1.   The General Assembly shall establish an independent Advisory Board. The Advisory Board shall consist of distinguished, internationally recognised scientists, scholars, experts, and stakeholders’ representatives from the different disciplines with which EHRI-ERIC engages. Advisory Board members shall be appointed by the General Assembly on a worldwide basis, without a requirement to be based in a Member of Observer country and shall act on their personal title while avoiding organisational and personal conflicts of interest with EHRI-ERIC.

2.   The Advisory Board shall:

3.   The Advisory Board shall be appointed by the General Assembly for renewable terms of 3 years based on the Director’s proposals.

4.   The Advisory Board shall elect a Chair and a Vice-Chair from among its Members. The Chair shall convene and chair all meetings of the Advisory Board.

5.   The Advisory Board shall meet at least once per year.

6.   The Advisory Board may divide itself into specialised committees to address specific needs or perspectives of EHRI-ERIC.

7.   The rules of procedure of the Advisory Board shall be approved by the General Assembly.

1.   The General Assembly may decide to set up a Steering Committee.

2.   The Steering Committee shall be composed of the Director, the Chair of the National Coordinators Committee and distinguished individuals with relevant expertise elected by the National Coordinators Committee.

3.   The Steering Committee shall provide the Director with expertise on the different domains EHRI-ERIC is developing and advise on strategy and service development.

4.   The Director shall be the Chair of the Steering Committee.

1.   The resources of EHRI-ERIC shall consist of the following:

2.   Contributions and resources shall be used for pursuing the tasks and activities set out in Article 2 of these statutes.

1.   The financial year of EHRI-ERIC shall begin on 1 January and end on 31 December of each year.

2.   The accounts of EHRI-ERIC shall be accompanied by a report on budgetary and financial management of the financial year.

3.   EHRI-ERIC shall be subject to the requirements of the law of the country where it has its statutory seat as regards preparation, filing, auditing and publication of accounts.

4.   EHRI-ERIC shall ensure that its resources are used in accordance with the principles of sound financial management.

5.   EHRI-ERIC may adopt its own additional financial rules, to be approved by the General Assembly.

1.   VAT exemptions based on Articles 143(1)(g) and 151(1)(b) of Council Directive 2006/112/EC and in accordance with Articles 50 and 51 of Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 282/2011, shall be limited to purchases of goods and services by EHRI-ERIC and its Members as defined in Article 9(1) of Council regulation (EC) No 723/2009 of June 25, 2009 on the Community legal framework for a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC), that are for the official and exclusive use by EHRI-ERIC provided that such purchases are made solely for the non-economic activities of EHRI-ERIC in line with its activities. VAT exemptions shall be limited to purchases exceeding the value of EUR 300 excluding VAT.

2.   Excise Duty exemptions, based on Article 11 of Council Directive 2020/262, shall be limited to purchases by EHRI-ERIC that are for the official and exclusive use by EHRI-ERIC provided that such purchases are made solely for the non-economic activities of EHRI-ERIC in line with its activities and that the purchase exceeds the value of EUR 300 excluding VAT.

3.   Purchases by staff members are not covered by the above exemptions.

1.   EHRI-ERIC shall promote open source, open access and FAIR Data Principles.

2.   Collection and use of EHRI-ERIC data shall be subject to European and national laws of personal data protection.

3.   EHRI-ERIC shall provide guidance to users to ensure that research conducted using material made accessible through EHRI-ERIC shall be undertaken within a framework that recognises the rights of data owners and privacy of individuals.

4.   EHRI-ERIC shall ensure that users agree to the terms and conditions governing access and that suitable security arrangements are in place regarding internal storage and handling.

5.   EHRI-ERIC shall define arrangements for investigating allegations of security breaches and confidentiality disclosures regarding research data.

6.   EHRI-ERIC shall ensure that the data providers, authors and the EHRI-ERIC logo are acknowledged in an appropriate manner.

7.   EHRI-ERIC shall adopt a data policy, to be approved by the General Assembly.

1.   EHRI-ERIC shall produce an annual activity report, containing in particular the scientific, operational and financial aspects of its activities. The report shall be approved by the General Assembly and transmitted to the European Commission and relevant public authorities within six months from the end of the corresponding financial year. This report shall be made publicly available.

2.   EHRI-ERIC shall inform the European Commission of any circumstances which threaten to seriously jeopardise the achievement of EHRI-ERIC tasks or hinder EHRI-ERIC from fulfilling requirements laid down in Regulation (EC) No 723/2009.

1.   The internal functioning of EHRI-ERIC shall be governed by:

1.   In the event of a dispute or difference between the Members arising out of or in connection with the statutes, the General Assembly shall meet as soon as reasonably practicable to consult in good faith and seek to solve the dispute amicably.

2.   The Court of Justice of the European Union shall have jurisdiction over litigation among the Members and Observers in relation to EHRI-ERIC, between Members and Observers and EHRI-ERIC and over any litigation to which the Union is a party.

3.   European Union legislation on jurisdiction shall apply to disputes between EHRI-ERIC and third parties. In cases not covered by Union legislation, the law of the State where EHRI-ERIC has its statutory seat shall determine the competent jurisdiction for the resolution of such disputes.

1.   A constitutional meeting of the General Assembly shall be called by the host country as soon as possible after the Commission decision setting up EHRI-ERIC takes effect.

2.   Before the first meeting is held and no later than 45 calendar days after the European Commission decision setting up EHRI-ERIC takes effect, the host country shall notify the founding members and observers of any specific urgent legal action that needs to be taken on behalf of EHRI-ERIC. Unless a founding member objects within 5 working days after being notified, the legal action shall be carried out by a person duly authorised by the host country.