1.   The European Plate Observing System is set up as a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) under Council Regulation (EC) No 723/2009 (1), named and hereinafter referred to as ‘EPOS ERIC’.

2.   EPOS shall be a distributed research infrastructure located in EPOS ERIC member countries, as well as in other countries where EPOS ERIC has concluded agreements.

3.   EPOS ERIC shall have its statutory seat in Rome, Italy.

4.   The working language of EPOS ERIC shall be English.

1.   The principal task of EPOS ERIC shall be to establish and operate the distributed European Plate Observing System and to provide an effective governance framework to drive the integration and coordination of the Thematic Core Services (TCS) and build and provide governance for the Integrated Core Services (ICS).

2.   EPOS ERIC shall carry out the following activities:

3.   EPOS ERIC shall pursue its principal task on a non-economic basis. EPOS ERIC 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.

4.   EPOS ERIC shall record the costs and revenues of its economic activities separately and shall charge market prices for them, or, if these cannot be ascertained, full costs plus a reasonable margin. These activities shall not be covered by tax exemptions.

1.   The following entities may become members of EPOS ERIC or may become observers of EPOS ERIC without voting rights:

2.   Conditions for becoming a member or an observer are set out in Article 5 of the Statutes.

3.   Membership of EPOS ERIC must include a Member State and two other countries that are either Member States or associated countries.

4.   Member States and 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 EPOS ERIC complies at all times with that requirement.

5.   Any member or observer referred to in paragraph 1(a) to (c) may be represented by 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 Chairperson of the General Assembly of any change of its representing entity, of the specific rights and obligations which have been delegated to it or of any other relevant change, if any.

6.   The members and observers and their representing entities are listed in Annex I of the Statutes. Annex I shall be kept up to date by the Chairperson of the General Assembly, or any person authorised by him/her.

1.   Entities referred to in Article 4(1) of the Statutes willing to become members of EPOS ERIC shall submit a written application to the Chairperson of the General Assembly. That application shall describe how the entity will contribute to EPOS ERIC task and activities described in Article 3 of the Statutes and how it will fulfil obligations referred to in Article 7 of the Statutes. The admission of the entities as members shall be subject to a three-quarter majority approval by the General Assembly in accordance with Article 10(9)(b) of the Statutes.

2.   Entities referred to in Article 4(1) of the Statutes who are willing to contribute to EPOS ERIC, but are not yet in a position to join as members, may apply for observer status. Applicants shall submit a written application to the Chairperson of the General Assembly. That application shall describe how the applicant will contribute to EPOS ERIC task and activities described in Article 3 of the Statutes and how it will fulfil obligations referred to in Article 8 of the Statutes. The admission or re-admission of observers shall be subject to a three-quarter majority approval by the General Assembly in accordance with Article 10(9)(b) of the Statutes.

1.   Within the first five years of the establishment of EPOS ERIC, no member may withdraw, unless it has reserved the right to do so by paying a higher annual contribution as set out in Annex II of the Statutes.

2.   After the first five years of the establishment of EPOS ERIC, a member may withdraw at the end of a financial year, provided that it notifies its intention to withdraw by sending an official request six months in advance to the Chairperson of the General Assembly.

3.   Observers may withdraw at the end of a financial year, provided that they notify their intention to withdraw by sending an official request six months in advance to the Chairperson of the General Assembly.

4.   Members and observers shall fulfil all financial and other obligations before their withdrawal can become effective.

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

6.   The member or observer referred to in paragraph 5 shall have the right to explain its position to the General Assembly before the General Assembly makes any decision on the issue.

7.   A member that withdraws or has its membership terminated shall neither have the right to restitution nor reimbursement of any contributions made, nor the right to make any legal claim to the assets of EPOS ERIC.

8.   An entity shall automatically cease to be a member if it ceases to exist or no longer falls within any of categories set out under Article 4 of the Statutes.

1.   Rights of members shall include:

2.   Each member shall:

1.   Rights of observers shall include:

2.   Each observer shall:

3.   An observer may be admitted for a maximum of three years. The General Assembly, on request of the observer, may extend that initial period once for a one-year extension. In exceptional cases the General Assembly may accept more than one extension of an observer status.

4.   An entity that foresees a lasting participation in EPOS ERIC, but that for domestic reasons is not in a position to become a member, may in exceptional cases be granted the status of permanent observer. Permanent observers shall have the same rights and obligations as members as provided for in Article 7 paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Statutes, except the right to vote at the General Assembly.

1.   The annual contributions to EPOS ERIC and the methods for their calculation are specified in Annex II of the Statutes. Any changes affecting the members' or permanent observers' contributions shall be adopted by the General Assembly according to Article 10(9)(d) of the Statutes.

2.   Members who have joined EPOS ERIC reserving the right to withdraw before the end of the first five years of the establishment of EPOS ERIC shall pay a higher annual contribution as set out in Annex II of the Statutes.

1.   The General Assembly shall be the governing body of EPOS ERIC and shall be composed of representatives of the members and observers of EPOS ERIC.

2.   Each member shall nominate up to two official representatives. Each observer shall nominate one official representative with non-voting rights. Additionally, each member and observer may bring experts. Each delegation may consist of up to four persons.

3.   A member may be represented by another member if notified in writing to the Chairperson prior to any meeting of the General Assembly. A member cannot represent more than one other member.

4.   The general principle of one member one vote is adopted, providing that the nominal membership fee is paid according to Annex II of the Statutes; deviations from the nominal membership fee are handled by scaling votes with the provided membership fee as specified in Annex II of the Statutes.

5.   The General Assembly shall meet at least twice a year, and shall be responsible for the overall direction and supervision of EPOS ERIC. Meetings of the General Assembly shall be quorate if two-thirds of the Members are represented at the meeting. The General Assembly shall:

6.   The General Assembly shall elect a Chairperson and two Vice-Chairpersons amongst the representatives by two-third majority of the votes for a two-year term, renewable once. The Vice-Chairpersons shall substitute the Chairperson in his/her absence and in case of conflict of interest.

7.   The meetings of the General Assembly shall be convened by the Chairperson. A meeting of the General Assembly may be requested by either at least half of the members, or the Chairperson and Vice-Chairpersons of the General Assembly or the Executive Director of EPOS ERIC.

8.   The General Assembly shall use their best efforts to achieve consensus on all decisions. Failing consensus, a simple majority of the votes cast shall suffice to pass a decision, except for decisions referred to in paragraphs 9 and 10.

9.   The following decisions shall require three-quarter majority of the votes cast:

10.   The following decisions shall require two-third majority of the votes cast:

1.   The General Assembly shall establish, with a majority of two-thirds, a Scientific Board, an Ethics Board, and any other board or committee to advise, control and evaluate the activities governed by EPOS ERIC and the results achieved.

2.   The Scientific Board shall:

The Scientific Board shall consist of top-level scientists. The number of members of the Scientific Board shall be decided by the General Assembly. This number shall not be less than 5 and not more than 10. The members of the Scientific Board shall be appointed by the General Assembly for a term of 3 years. The General Assembly may reappoint them once for the same duration on proposal from the Executive Director. The Chair of the Scientific Board shall be elected among its members. The Rules of Procedure of the Scientific Board shall be adopted by the General Assembly.

3.   The Ethics Board shall:

The Ethics Board shall consist of known experts on ethics issues. The number of members of the Ethics Board shall be decided by the General Assembly. This number shall not be less than 3 and not more than 6.

The members of the Ethics Board shall be appointed by the General Assembly for a term of 3 years. The General Assembly may reappoint them once for the same duration on proposal from the Executive Director. The Chair of the Ethics Board shall be elected among its members. The Rules of Procedure of the Ethics Board shall be adopted by the General Assembly.

1.   The General Assembly shall appoint the Executive Director in accordance with the approved procedure. The term for the Executive Director shall be three years, renewable once for an identical period.

2.   The Executive Director shall be the legal representative of EPOS ERIC.

3.   The Executive Director shall:

4.   The Executive Director shall be located at the statutory seat of EPOS ERIC and shall be responsible for managing the Executive Coordination Office and its activities in accordance with budget and rules adopted by the General Assembly.

1.   The Service Coordination Committee shall assist the Executive Director in the implementation of his/her tasks.

2.   The Service Coordination Committee shall consist of one representative from each EPOS Core Services and shall be appointed by the Executive Director upon a set of candidates proposed by each Core Services. Members of the Service Coordination Committee cannot be official representatives of a member or an observer in the General Assembly or members of the External Advisory Boards.

3.   The meetings of the Service Coordination Committee shall be convened by the Executive Director at least twice a year. An extraordinary meeting of the Service Coordination Committee may be requested by at least half of the members.

4.   The Executive Director shall consult the Service Coordination Committee for all general matters including drawing up proposals for the General Assembly in establishing and modifying annual working plans to ensure consistence, coherence and stability of the operation of the research infrastructure.

5.   The Service Coordination Committee shall adopt its own rules of procedure, which shall be approved by the General Assembly.

1.   EPOS 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 Commission and relevant public authorities within six months from the end of the corresponding financial year. This report shall be made publicly available.

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

1.   The financial year of EPOS ERIC shall be the calendar year.

2.   The accounts of EPOS ERIC shall be accompanied by a report — laid down by the Executive Director — on budgetary and financial management of the financial year.

3.   EPOS 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.

1.   VAT exemptions based on Articles 143(1)(g) and 151(1)(b) of Council Directive 2006/112/EC (2) and in accordance with Articles 50 and 51 of Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 282/2011 (3), shall be limited to purchases by EPOS ERIC and by members of EPOS ERIC which are for the official and exclusive use by EPOS ERIC provided that such purchase is made solely for the non-economic activities of EPOS ERIC in line with its activities.

2.   VAT exemptions shall be limited to purchases exceeding the value of EUR 300.

3.   Excise Duty exemptions based on Article 12 of Council Directive 2008/118/EC (4), shall be limited to purchases by EPOS ERIC which are for the official and exclusive use by EPOS ERIC provided that such purchase is made solely for the non-economic activities of EPOS ERIC in line with its activities and that the purchase exceeds the value of EUR 300.

1.   EPOS ERIC shall be liable for its debts.

2.   The members are not jointly liable for the debts of EPOS ERIC. The members' and permanent observers' financial liability for the debts of EPOS ERIC shall be limited to their respective contribution provided to the EPOS ERIC as specified in Article 9 of the Statutes.

3.   EPOS ERIC shall take appropriate insurance to cover the risks specific to the construction and operation of EPOS ERIC.

1.   EPOS ERIC data access policy shall follow the best international practices with respect to public data, such as those established by the European Union and shall recognise the rights of the owners of data.

2.   EPOS ERIC shall be a facilitator of research and shall, as a general rule, encourage open access following the FAIR principles to research data, data products, services and software, as well as research facilities.

3.   Where there are differences in policies relating to data sharing and physical access rules, EPOS ERIC will encourage a culture of openness and sharing within public research communities and within members, observers and beyond. Access shall be based on open access principles following criteria, procedure, and modalities defined in the EPOS ERIC Implementing Rules.

4.   Procedures and evaluation criteria shall be made publicly available on the EPOS ERIC website.

1.   EPOS ERIC shall encourage researchers to make their results publicly available also through EPOS ERIC.

2.   EPOS ERIC shall use multiple channels to reach the target audiences, including web portal, newsletter, workshops, presence in conferences, articles in magazines and news media.

1.   The term ‘Intellectual Property’ (IP) shall be understood in accordance with Article 2 of the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organisation signed on 14 July 1967.

2.   The intellectual property rights of EPOS ERIC data and other knowledge produced and developed within the activities of EPOS ERIC shall belong to the entity/ies or to the person/s that/who has generated it.

3.   The exchange and integration of intellectual property between members or representing entities shall be subject to the Implementing Rules approved by the General Assembly. The Implementing Rules shall also address terms of confidentiality of the exchanged data.

4.   Intellectual property generated as a result of activities funded exclusively by EPOS ERIC shall be the property of EPOS ERIC.

5.   EPOS ERIC shall comply with applicable legislation on data and privacy protection.

1.   EPOS ERIC employment policy shall be governed by the laws of the country in which staff is employed and habitually carries out its work.

2.   The selection procedures, recruitment and employment for EPOS ERIC staff positions shall be transparent, non-discriminatory and respect equal opportunities. All positions in EPOS ERIC shall be announced publicly.

1.   EPOS ERIC shall treat procurement candidates and tenderers equally and without discrimination. EPOS ERIC procurement policy shall respect the principles of transparency, non-discrimination and competition. Detailed rules on procurement procedures and criteria shall be set out in the Implementing Rules.

2.   Procurement by members and observers concerning EPOS ERIC activities shall be done in such a way that due consideration is given to EPOS ERIC needs, technical requirements and specifications issued by the relevant bodies.

1.   EPOS ERIC is in favour and encourages open source and open access principles.

2.   EPOS ERIC shall provide guidance to users to ensure that research involving material made accessible through EPOS ERIC shall be undertaken within a framework that recognises the rights of data owners and privacy of individuals.

3.   EPOS ERIC shall ensure that users agree to the terms and conditions governing the access to data and services and that suitable security arrangements are in place regarding internal storage and handling.

4.   EPOS ERIC shall define arrangements for investigating allegations of security breaches and confidentiality disclosures regarding research data.

1.   The winding up of EPOS ERIC shall be decided by the General Assembly in accordance with Article 10 of the Statutes.

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

3.   Assets remaining after payment of EPOS ERIC debts shall be apportioned among the members in proportion to their accumulated annual contribution to EPOS ERIC as specified in Article 9 of the Statutes.

4.   Without undue delay and in any event within 10 days of the closure of the winding up procedure, EPOS ERIC shall notify the Commission thereof.

5.   EPOS 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.   The Court of Justice of the European Union shall have jurisdiction over litigation among the members in relation to EPOS ERIC, between members and EPOS ERIC and over any litigation to which the Union is a party.

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

1.   Proposals for amendments of the Statutes shall be adopted by the General Assembly in accordance with Article 10(9)(a) of the Statutes and submitted to the Commission in accordance with Article 11 of the Regulation. In case modifications approved by the General Assembly only consist of updating the annexes to these Statutes, such updates shall be made by the Executive Director.

2.   The Statutes shall be kept up to date and made publicly available on the website of EPOS ERIC and at its statutory seat. 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 the Regulation and the procedure followed for its adoption.

1.   A first meeting of the General Assembly shall be called by the State where EPOS ERIC has its statutory seat as soon as possible after the Commission decision setting up EPOS ERIC takes effect.

2.   Before the first meeting is held and no later than forty-five calendar days after the Commission decision setting up EPOS ERIC takes effect, the relevant State shall notify the members, permanent observers and observers of any specific urgent legal action that needs to be taken on behalf of EPOS ERIC. Unless a member or a permanent observer objects within five working days after being notified, the legal action shall be carried out by a person duly authorised by the relevant State.