Call for expressions of interest for external experts to be appointed as a member of the Administrative Board of Review of the European Central Bank (Frankfurt am Main, Germany)

(2019/C 167 A/01)

 

1.   Introduction

Council Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013 (1) establishes the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) on the basis of Article 127(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The SSM is composed of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the national competent authorities of the Member States whose currency is the euro, with the possibility to establish a close cooperation with the competent authorities of Member States whose currency is not the euro. The ECB is responsible for the overall functioning of the SSM.

Pursuant to Article 24(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013, the ECB established an Administrative Board of Review (the ‘Administrative Board’) for the purposes of carrying out an internal administrative review of decisions taken by the ECB in exercising the powers conferred on it by Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013 following a request for review. There is currently a vacancy for a member of the Administrative Board.

The ECB therefore organises this call for expressions of interest to appoint one member of the Administrative Board in accordance with Article 4 of Decision ECB/2014/16 of the European Central Bank (2).

2.   The ECB and its Administrative Board of Review

The Administrative Board is an integral part of the SSM. Any natural or legal person may in the cases referred to Article 24(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013 request a review of an ECB decision taken under that Regulation and addressed to that person, or which directly and individually concerns that person, apart from decisions of the ECB’s Governing Council taken under Article 24(7) of that Regulation.

3.   Composition of the Administrative Board

In accordance with Article 24(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013, the Administrative Board is composed of five individuals and two alternates of high repute. It has sufficient resources and expertise to assess the exercise of the powers of the ECB under Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013. Members of the Administrative Board and the two alternates are appointed by the ECB for a term of five years, which may be extended once, and act independently and in the public interest.

The two alternates will temporarily replace the members of the Administrative Board in case of their temporary incapacity, their death, resignation or removal from office or if, in the context of a particular request for review, there are justified reasons for serious concern as to the existence of a conflict of interest, e.g. where a member of the Administrative Board has a private or personal interest which may influence, or appear to influence, the impartial and objective performance of their duties.

The members of the Administrative Board and their alternates are nominated by the Executive Board, following consultation of the Supervisory Board, and appointed by the ECB’s Governing Council. The Governing Council has also laid down the terms and conditions of appointment of the members and alternates of the Administrative Board.

4.   Qualifications and experience of Administrative Board members and alternates

In accordance with Article 24(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013, Administrative Board members and alternates are chosen on the basis of their high repute and of their proven record of relevant knowledge and professional experience, including supervisory experience, to a sufficiently high level in the fields of banking or other financial services. Current ECB staff, as well as current staff of competent authorities or other national or Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies who are involved in carrying out the tasks conferred on the ECB by Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013, are excluded from the selection. Administrative Board members and alternates must not be engaged in any other occupation in the banking or financial field that could put them in a situation of conflict of interests and limit their capacity to review decisions. They should also refrain from activities which could give rise, in the eyes of third-party observers, to the appearance of an institutional conflict of interest. This includes membership of the external advisory or administrative review bodies of other Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies. They must be available at short notice to hear requests for review against decisions of the ECB.

The appointment of the Administrative Board member will be conducted so as to ensure, to the extent possible, an appropriate geographical and gender balance across the Member States.

Applications will be subject to a comparative evaluation carried out by the ECB. In particular, the following criteria will be taken into account:

(a)     Selection criteria

Candidates must have all of the following skills and competencies:

—	a very good knowledge and understanding of Union legislation in the field of banking and other financial services,

—	a very good knowledge and understanding of the functioning of the banking sector,

—	a very good knowledge and understanding of supervisory procedures and judicial practice in the context of supervisory appeal procedures.

In addition, it is a distinct advantage for candidates to have any of the following skills and competencies:

—	supervisory experience in the banking sector or experience of legal work relating to supervision,

—	a thorough understanding of Union institutions and Union decision-making processes, as well as other European and international processes of relevance to the activities of the ECB, and the SSM in particular,

—	a thorough understanding of the tasks and functioning of the ECB, and the SSM in particular.

(b)     Eligibility criteria

Candidates must meet all of the following eligibility criteria (to be fulfilled on the closing date for applications). They must:

—	be a national of a Union Member State, entitled to their full rights as a citizen,

—	have an advanced command of English with proven drafting ability and presentation skills,

—	have a good knowledge of at least one other official Union language.

An advanced or good command of other official Union languages would be an asset.

In addition, candidates must not currently be a member of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, nor may they have held such a position for at least one year prior to the closing date for applications.

5.   Remuneration

The successful candidate will receive remuneration commensurate with the tasks assigned to him or her.

6.   Appointment

The selection procedure will be conducted in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013 and the Operating Rules of the Administrative Board. The member of the Administrative Board will be appointed by the ECB’s Governing Council in a personal capacity and may not therefore delegate responsibilities to another member or to a third party.

7.   Reserve List

The Selection Committee may place suitable candidates on a reserve list, from which candidates may be appointed to similar positions in the future. Candidates will be informed accordingly if this is done. The reserve list will remain valid for five years from the appointment of the member of the Administrative Board, and may be used to appoint a member or an alternate member in the event that a vacancy arises.

8.   Independence and declarations of commitments and interest

The member of the Administrative Board will act independently and in the public interest. For that purpose, he or she must make a public declaration of commitments and a public declaration of interests indicating any direct or indirect interest which might be considered prejudicial to his or her independence, or the absence of any such interest. He or she must also declare compliance with rules on confidentiality.

9.   Privacy statement

The ECB will process all personal information on candidates pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3). This applies, in particular, to the confidentiality and security of such data. The ECB’s Director General Legal Services will be identified as controller for the processing of personal data related to the ECB’s involvement in the selection procedure on the basis of this call for expressions of interest. The purpose of the data processing is to organise the selection and appointment of the member of the Administrative Board. All personal data will be processed solely for this purpose.

The recipients of the candidates’ personal data will be the members of the Selection Committee, the ECB’s Executive Board and the ECB’s Supervisory Board and the members of the ECB’s Governing Council.

The ECB may keep successful candidates’ data for a period of five years from the end of the term of office. In the case of unsuccessful candidates, the data will be kept for two years following the completion of the selection procedure. In the case of legal disputes, the above retention periods will be extended for two years after completion of all relevant proceedings.

Candidates have the right to access their data and to update or correct their identification data. Data demonstrating compliance with the eligibility criteria and selection criteria may, however, not be updated or corrected after the closing date of this call for expressions of interest in order to ensure compliance with the principles of equal access and non-discrimination and to ensure that the selection procedure is robust, transparent and fair for all candidates.

Candidates have the right to access their evaluation data throughout the procedure. To safeguard the confidentiality of the deliberations and decision-making of the Selection Committee, the ECB’s Executive Board, the ECB’s Supervisory Board and the Governing Council and to protect the rights and freedoms of the other candidates, the candidates’ access shall be restricted to their own submissions and to the parts of the assessment that relate to them.

Candidates are entitled to have recourse to the European Data Protection Supervisor at any time.

Once appointed, the name of the Administrative Board member appointed under this procedure will be published on the ECB’s website.

10.   Application procedure

For applications to be valid, they must be submitted in accordance with the procedures set out below and comprise the following:

—	a completed application form, available from: http://www.ecb.europa.eu

—	an up-to-date Curriculum Vitae (the model European CV (recommended) can be downloaded at the same web address).

Applications must be submitted no later than 21 calendar days following the publication of this call for expressions of interest in the Official Journal of the European Union. Applications may be submitted by registered post or by private courier service, the post office stamp or the date on the slip issued by the courier service shall constitute proof of compliance with the above time-limit for submission. However, the ECB will not consider applications that reach the ECB 10 calendar days after the expiry of the above time-limit. Applications must be submitted to the following address:

European Central Bank

Director General Legal Services

Kaiserstraße 29

60640 Frankfurt am Main

Germany

The application must be signed by the candidate.

Applications submitted after the abovementioned deadline or via other means, e.g. via fax, will not be taken into account. Unclear or incomplete applications will not be considered. In order to facilitate the selection process, all communication with candidates concerning this call for expressions of interest will be in English.

Candidates must keep the ECB informed in writing of any change in their situation or address without delay, so that their application may be kept up to date.

All candidates applying to this call for expressions of interest will be informed about the outcome of the selection and appointment process.

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(1)  Council Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013 of 15 October 2013 conferring specific tasks on the European Central Bank concerning policies relating to the prudential supervision of credit institutions (OJ L 287, 29.10.2013, p. 63).

(2)  Decision ECB/2014/16 of the European Central Bank of 14 April 2014 concerning the establishment of the Administrative Board of Review and its Operating Rules (OJ L 175, 14.6.2014, p. 47).

(3)  Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and of the free movement of such data and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39).