Call for expressions of interest for the position of member of the Management Board of the European Food safety Authority

(2006/C 210/13)

Applications are invited for the position of member of the Management Board of the European Food Safety Authority (hereinafter referred to as ‘EFSA’ or ‘the Authority’) established by Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety (1). The Authority is located in Parma, Italy.

A member of the Authority's Management Board, appointed until 30 June 2008, has resigned and is to be replaced until the end of his term of office, i.e. until 30 June 2008.

The European Food Safety Authority

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is the keystone of European Union risk assessment regarding food and feed safety. The Authority was established by Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 to provide scientific advice and support for Community legislation and policies in all fields that may have a direct or indirect impact on food and feed safety, as well as closely associated questions in the field of animal health and welfare and plant health. It provides independent information on these matters and communicates on risks. Its mission also includes provision of scientific advice on nutrition, particularly in relation to Community legislation, and GMOs, including also new food technologies. The Authority has rapidly earned a reputation with its stakeholders as the accepted point of reference by virtue of its independence, the scientific quality of its opinions and public information, the transparency of its procedures and its diligence in performing its tasks. In addition to having its own specialist personnel, the Authority is supported by networks of competent organisations in the European Union.

Legal background

In accordance with Art. 25 of the above-mentioned Regulation ‘the members of the Board shall be appointed in such a way as to secure the highest standards of competence, a broad range of relevant expertise and, consistent with these, the broadest possible geographic distribution within the Union’. In addition, four of the members of the Management Board ‘shall have their background in organizations representing consumers and other interests in the food chain’.

Furthermore, Recital 40 of the aforementioned Regulation stipulates that ‘Cooperation with Member States is also indispensable’ and Recital 41 states that ‘the Management Board should be appointed in such a way as to secure the highest standard of competence, a broad range of relevant expertise, for instance in management and in public administration, and the broadest possible geographic distribution within the Union. This should be facilitated by a rotation of the different countries of origin of the members of the Management Board without any post being reserved for nationals of any specific Member State.’

Role and operation of the Management Board

The responsibilities of the Management Board include, in particular:

The Board operates by formal meetings, private sessions, informal contacts between members and correspondence. EFSA papers, Board correspondence and private or informal sessions are held in English. Formal sessions include interpretation where Members need this. The Board typically meets five times per year, predominantly in Parma but also in other European Union locations where necessary.

Composition of the Management Board

The Management Board is composed of 14 members appointed by the Council in consultation with the European Parliament, plus a representative of the Commission. Of the 14 members of the Management Board appointed on 15 July 2002 by Council Decision, (2) the term of office for seven of the members runs until 30 June 2008. The term of office for the other seven ended on 30 June 2006, and the Council has appointed seven members by a decision taken on 19 June 2006 for a term of office running until 30 June 2010. (3)

Current membership of the Board can be seen on EFSA's website (http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/mboard/members.html).

This publication concerns the replacement of a member of the EFSA Management Board who has resigned; his term of office expires on 30 June 2008. This call may also be used for the replacement of other members who are unable to complete their term of office.

Qualifications for the position

The members of the Management Board need the competence and collective expertise necessary to guide the Authority on matters relating to its mission, particularly to ensure:

Candidates will need to demonstrate that they can contribute effectively to one or more of the areas listed above. They must have had at least 15 years of experience in one or more of these areas including at least 5 years at a senior level. Candidates shall have at least five years of experience gained from work in connection with food and feed safety or other areas related to the Authority's mission, notably in the field of animal health and welfare, protection of the environment (4), plant health and nutrition. Candidates shall demonstrate substantial experience the ability to operate in a multilingual, multicultural and multidisciplinary environment. Candidates will be selected on the basis of comparative merits in relation to the above-mentioned criteria and, consistent with these, of the broadest possible geographic distribution within the Union.

Independence and declarations of commitment and interest

Board members will be nominated in a personal capacity. They will be required to make a declaration of commitment to act independently in the public interest and to make a declaration in relation to interests which might be considered prejudicial to their independence. Therefore, in line with the principle of independence in the functioning of the Board, applicants are asked to indicate in the application form any direct or indirect relationship that they consider to be relevant to the mission of the Authority.

Participation in the Board meetings

Members will need to make a high level of commitment to participate in the meetings of the Management Board. They are asked to indicate in the application form their availability to actively participate in the Management Board. It is estimated that the Management Board will meet four to six times per year. Members of the Board are not remunerated but will be reimbursed for their normal travel and subsistence costs. They will also receive indemnities for each day spent at meetings in accordance with Art. 15 of the Rules of Procedure of the Management Board of the EFSA, which states that ‘members of the Management Board other than the Commission representative and those employed by a national public body or institution will receive a daily indemnity of 300 Euros for each meeting of the Board for which he/she is present’.

Members of the Management Board having a background in organisations representing consumers and other interests in the food chain

Candidates are asked to indicate if their application could be also considered as an expression of interest in the context of such Board Members and, if so, to provide details of their background in organisations representing consumers and other interests in the food chain.

Term of office

With the exception of the Commission representative, who is appointed by the Commission, members of the Management Board are appointed by the Council, in consultation with the European Parliament, from the list drawn up by the Commission on the basis of a call for expressions of interest. The term of office for the post referred to in this publication shall be until 30 June 2008 (term of office of the member who has resigned) and can be renewed. Applicants should note that the Commission's list will be made public. Individuals on the Commission's list who are not appointed may be invited to constitute a reserve list which may be used to replace other members of the EFSA Management Board who are unable to complete their term of office.

Rather than taking the previous call for expressions of interest as a basis, the Commission has decided to issue a new call in order to ensure the objective of ‘the broadest possible geographical distribution’ to be facilitated by ‘a rotation of the different countries of origin of the Members’.

It should be noted that the six members whose terms extend until 30 June 2008 are nationals of Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and the United Kingdom, and that the members appointed until 30 June 2010 include nationals of Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, the Netherlands, France and Sweden. The Management Board has not to date included nationals of Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Slovakia or Slovenia.

Moreover, the current membership of the Management Board includes only one member who has demonstrated competence and expertise acquired with consumer organisations, although a number of other members have acquired some of their competence and expertise in organisations linked to other food chain interests.

This situation is due to the insufficient number of candidates meeting the competence and expertise criteria required and coming from organisations active in the field of consumer protection.

Candidates who could improve the representativeness of the Management Board are therefore welcome.

This call is open to nationals of any EU Member State. Applicants must be nationals of an EU Member State.

Equal opportunities

The European Union takes great care to avoid any form of discrimination and actively encourages applications from women.

Application Procedure and Closing date

Applications shall comply with the requirements set out below; otherwise they will not be taken into consideration:

(1)  OJ L 31, 1.2.2002, p. 1, as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 575/2006 (OJ L 100, 8.4.2006, p. 3).

(2)  OJ C 179, 27.7.2002, p. 9.

(3)  OJ L 189, 12.7.2006, p. 7.

(4)  Ecology, protection of biodiversity.