1.   The Commission may consult the group on any matter relating to organic production.

2.   The chairperson of the group may advise the Commission to consult the group on a specific question.

1.   The group shall be composed of up to 13 members.

2.   The members shall be individuals appointed in a personal capacity who shall act independently and in the public interest.

3.   Members who are no longer capable of contributing effectively to the group’s deliberations, who, in the opinion of the Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (‘DG AGRI’), 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 part of the group and may be replaced for the remainder of their term of office.

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

2.   Individuals applying to be appointed as members of the group shall disclose any circumstances that could give rise to a conflict of interest. In particular, the Commission shall require those individuals to submit a declaration of interests (‘DOI’) form on the basis of the standard DOI form for expert groups (7), together with an updated curriculum vitae (CV), as part of their application. Submission of a duly completed DOI form shall be necessary in order to be eligible to be appointed as a member in a personal capacity. The conflict of interest assessment shall be performed by the Commission in compliance with the Commission’s horizontal rules on expert groups (‘the horizontal rules’).

3.   The members of the group shall be appointed by the Director General of DG AGRI from specialists with competence in the areas referred to in Articles 2 and 3(1) and who have responded to the public call for applications.

4.   The other suitable candidates who have responded to the public call for applications and who are not appointed as members of the group shall be listed in a reserve list. The Commission shall ask applicants for their consent before including their names on the reserve list.

5.   Members of the group shall be appointed for a 4-year term of office, renewable, and may not serve for more than three consecutive mandates. They shall remain in office until the end of their term of office or until such time as they are replaced in accordance with Article 4(3).

1.   The group shall act at the request of DG AGRI.

2.   Meetings of the group shall, in principle, be held on Commission premises or remotely if circumstances require so. In agreement with DG AGRI, the group may, by simple majority of its members, decide that proceedings of individual meetings shall be recorded, in compliance with relevant data protection rules.

3.   DG AGRI shall provide secretarial services. Commission officials from other departments with an interest in the proceedings may attend meetings of the group and its sub-groups.

4.   In agreement with the DG AGRI, the group may, by simple majority of its members, decide that deliberations shall be public.

5.   Minutes on the discussion on each point on the agenda and on the opinions delivered by the group shall be meaningful and complete. Minutes shall be drafted by the secretariat under the responsibility of the chair.

6.   In principle, the group shall adopt its opinions, recommendations or reports by consensus. In the event of a vote, the outcome of the vote shall be decided by simple majority of the members. Members who have voted against shall have the right to have a document summarising the reasons for their position annexed to the opinions, recommendations or reports.

1.   DG AGRI may set up sub-groups for the purpose of examining specific questions on the basis of the terms of reference it defines. Sub-groups shall operate in compliance with the horizontal rules and shall report to the group. They shall be dissolved as soon as their mandates are fulfilled.

2.   DG AGRI shall select members of sub-groups from the members of the group or from the reserve list referred to in Article 5(4).

1.   Organisations may be granted an observer status, in compliance with the horizontal rules, by direct invitation.

2.   Organisations appointed as observers shall nominate their representatives.

3.   Observers’representatives may be permitted by the chair to take part in the discussions of the group and provide expertise. However, they shall not have voting rights and shall not participate in the formulation of recommendations or advice of the group.

1.   The group and its sub-groups shall be registered in the Register of expert groups.

2.   As concerns the group and sub-groups composition, the following data shall be published on the Register of expert groups:

3.   All relevant documents, including the agendas, the minutes, the opinions 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 this information can be found. Access to dedicated websites 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 timely publication of minutes and the opinions. Exceptions to publication shall only be foreseen where it is deemed that 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 (11).