1.   The Platform shall assist the Commission in its work on simplification and burden reduction by providing actionable input on the issues identified by the Commission, with a particular focus on implementation of Union legislation at the national, regional and local levels.

2.   The Platform members can suggest policy areas where there is a perceived need for further simplification, identify relevant issues in that regard, provide evidence and suggestions on how to address those issues. On the issues identified, the Platform will:

The Platform may exchange on the progress of the simplification agenda at EU and national levels.

1.   Members of the Platform shall be:

2.   The experts appointed to represent a common interest referred to under paragraph 1(a) shall not represent an individual stakeholder, but a policy orientation common to different stakeholder organisations. They shall represent business, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises, social partners and civil society organisations having direct experience in the application of Union legislation.

3.   Members of the Platform referred to under paragraph 1, point (c), shall nominate three representatives each and shall be responsible for ensuring that their representatives provide a high level of expertise in the areas referred to in Article 2(2).

4.   Members of the Platform referred to under paragraph 1, point (b), shall nominate one representative each.

5.   All members of the Platform shall be appointed for a limited period corresponding to the mandate of the Commission.

6.   Members representing a common interest who are no longer capable of contributing effectively to the work of the Platform or who, in the opinion of the Commission’s Secretariat-General, do not comply with the conditions set out in Article 339 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union or who resign, shall no longer be invited to participate in any meetings of the group and may be replaced for the remainder of their term of office by another candidate from the reserve list referred to in Article 4(4).

1.   The selection of the members representing a common interest shall be carried out through a public call for applications, published in the Register of Commission expert groups and other similar entities (5) (‘the Register of expert groups’). In addition, the call for applications may be published also through other means, including on dedicated websites. The call for applications shall clearly outline the selection criteria, including the required expertise and interests to be represented in relation to the work to be performed. The minimum deadline for applications shall be four weeks.

2.   Registration in the Transparency Register (6) is required for individuals representing a common interest to be appointed.

3.   Individuals representing a common interest shall be appointed by the Commission’s Secretary-General from specialists who have responded to the call for applications and fulfil the selection criteria outlined in the call for applications.

4.   The Commission’s Secretariat-General shall establish a reserve list of suitable candidates that may be used for any needed replacement of members representing a common interest. The Commission’s Secretariat-General shall ask applicants for their consent before including their names on the reserve list.

1.   The Platform shall act at the request of its Chair supported by the Commission’s Secretariat-General, in compliance with the horizontal rules.

2.   Individual members and members’ representatives shall attend the meetings of the Platform. The Platform will be convened by the Commission normally twice a year in a plenary meeting. Plenary meetings of the Platform shall, in principle, be held on Commission premises. Other meetings shall, in principle, be held by videoconference.

3.   The Commission shall submit a draft agenda and the issues on which it seeks input ahead of each plenary meeting. The Platform will normally not look at topics falling under the following exclusion criteria:

4.   Input provided by members of the Platform shall be directly actionable, offering practical and evidence-based input that can be readily used by the Commission’s services in their policy and implementation work.

5.   Input shall be provided on an individual or voluntary collective basis; there is no requirement to reach a compromise on inputs or to adopt input contributions by consensus.

6.   The Secretariat-General of the Commission shall act as secretariat of the Platform and provide it with administrative support.

7.   In agreement with the Secretariat-General of the Commission, the Platform, by simple majority of its members, can decide that deliberations shall be public.

8.   Commission officials from other departments with an interest in the proceedings may attend meetings of the Platform.

9.   The Network of SME Envoys shall, at the request of the Chair and in coordination with the Secretariat-General of the Commission, contribute to the Platform’s work, in particular by providing input and advice on the burdens and complexity of legislation affecting small and medium-sized enterprises.

10.   The Platform’s secretariat, under the responsibility of the Chair, shall draft minutes of each plenary meeting. The minutes shall be meaningful and complete, reflecting prior input submitted by the Platform members on the agenda items, the outcome of the discussion, and any committed follow-up actions.

11.   To ensure efficiency, preparatory works ahead of the plenary meetings may be carried out in advance through written consultations, meetings in videoconference or electronic exchanges.

1.   The Chair may, on an ad hoc basis, invite external experts with specific expertise in a subject on the agenda, including experts from local and regional authorities and their associations, to participate in a plenary meeting of the Platform.

2.   In agreement with the Commission’s Secretariat-General, the Committee of the Regions may invite representatives of the RegHubs to the plenary meetings of the Platform or on an ad hoc basis.

3.   The Chair will invite a representative of the Network of SME Envoys to the plenary meetings.

1.   The Platform shall be registered in the Register of expert groups.

2.   As to the composition of the Platform, the following data shall be published in the Register of expert groups:

Individuals who do not wish to have their names disclosed may submit a request to the Secretariat for a derogation from this rule. A derogation shall be granted where justified on compelling legitimate grounds in relation to the specific situation of the individual, in particular where disclosure of the experts’ name could endanger their security or integrity.

3.   All relevant documents, including the agendas, complete minutes and the participants’ submissions shall be made available either on the Register of expert groups or via a link from the Register to a dedicated website where that information can be found. Access to that dedicated website shall not be submitted to user registration or any other restriction. In particular, the agenda and other relevant background documents shall be published in due time ahead of the meeting, followed by the publication of minutes in a timely manner. Exceptions to publication shall only be allowed where disclosure of a document would undermine the protection of a public or private interest as defined in Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council (9).

4.   The Platform shall have a dedicated website.

1.   Participants in the activities of the Platform shall not be remunerated for the expertise they offer.

2.   Travel and subsistence expenses incurred by participants in the activities of the Platform shall be reimbursed by the Commission. Reimbursement shall be made in accordance with the provisions in force within the Commission and within the limits of the available appropriations allocated to the Commission departments under the annual procedure for the allocation of resources.