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Document C2005/237A/01
Call for expressions of interest for the position of member of the Management Board of the European Food Safety Authority
Call for expressions of interest for the position of member of the Management Board of the European Food Safety Authority
Call for expressions of interest for the position of member of the Management Board of the European Food Safety Authority
OJ C 237A, 27.9.2005, p. 1–s012
(ES, CS, DA, DE, ET, EL, EN, FR, IT, LV, LT, HU, MT, NL, PL, PT, SK, SL, FI, SV)
27.9.2005 |
EN |
Official Journal of the European Union |
CA 237/1 |
CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST FOR THE POSITION OF MEMBER OF THE MANAGEMENT BOARD OF THE EUROPEAN FOOD SAFETY AUTHORITY
(2005/C 237 A/01)
Applications are invited for the positions of seven out of 14 members of the Management Board of the European Food Safety 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.
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 EU.
Legal background
In accordance with Article 25 of the abovementioned 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 organisations 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:
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general monitoring of the work of the Authority to ensure that it carries out its mission and performs the tasks assigned to it in accordance with its mandate and within a culture of independence and transparency, |
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the appointment of the Executive Director on the basis of the list drawn up by the Commission, and, if necessary, his or her dismissal, |
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the appointment of the members of the Scientific Committee and Panels who are responsible for providing the scientific opinions of the Authority, |
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the adoption of annual and multi-annual work programmes of the Authority and the general report of annual activities, |
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the adoption of the Authority's internal rules and financial regulation. |
The Board operates by formal meetings, private sessions, informal contacts and correspondence between members. EFSA papers, Board correspondence and private or informal sessions are held in English. Formal sessions include interpretation when required by the Members. The Board typically meets five times per year, predominantly in Parma but also in other EU locations when 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. The 14 members of the Management Board were appointed on 15 July 2002 by Council Decision (published in OJ C 179, 27.7.2002, p. 9). For seven of the members of the Management Board the term of office will end on 30 June 2006, whereas for the seven others it will end on 30 June 2008.
Current membership of the Board can be seen on EFSA's website (http://www.efsa.eu.int/mboard/catindex_en.html).
This publication concerns applications for the positions of those seven members of the first Management Board whose term expires on the 30 June 2006.
Qualifications for the position
The members of the Management Board should have the competence and collective expertise necessary to guide the Authority on matters relating to its mission, particularly to ensure:
1. |
efficient delivery of scientific advice and support to meet the European Community's needs in relation to its legislation and policies and its work in the public interest; |
2. |
application of sound principles of management and public administration; |
3. |
its functioning is guided by the principles of integrity, independence, transparency, ethical practices and high scientific quality while maintaining the indispensable cooperation with Member States; |
4. |
communication and information to the public on scientific issues; |
5. |
the creation and maintenance of a reputation for a high level of excellence, objectivity and reliability with its stakeholders; |
6. |
promotion of the necessary coherence between risk assessment, risk management and risk communication functions. |
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 five years at 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 (2), plant health and nutrition. Candidates shall demonstrate substantial experience with the ability to operate in a multilingual, multicultural and multi-disciplinary environment. Candidates will be selected on the basis of comparative merits in relation to the abovementioned criteria and, consistent with these, 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 Article 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 EUR 300 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 also be considered as an expression of interest in this particular category of Board Member and, if so, to provide details of their background in organisations representing consumers and other interests in the food chain.
Appointment and term of mandate
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 this call for expressions of interest. The term of office shall be four years and may be renewed once. 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 to be used in the event of need to replace members who are unable to complete their mandate.
Nationality
In this call, the Commission will seek to develop a shortlist that, consistent with an appointment securing the highest standards of competence and a broad range of expertise, will enable the appointments also to meet 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 members whose terms extend beyond 2006 already include nationals of Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and the United Kingdom, and that outgoing members (who may reapply) include nationals of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden. The Board has not, to date, included nationals of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.
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. |
Interested persons must use the attached form, which can also be downloaded from the Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection website at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/efsa/efsa_admin_en.htm. |
2. |
The application must be complete. It must include the application, as referred to in paragraph 3 below in one original printed version and three copies. |
3. |
The application must include:
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4. |
The letter of motivation, application form, CV, and supporting documents have to be written in an official language of the European Community. It would however be desirable to include a summary of experience and other pertinent information in English in order to facilitate the selection procedure. All applications will be treated as confidential. Supporting documents must be submitted at a later stage, if requested. |
5. |
The final deadline for submission of applications is 31 October 2005. |
6. |
The complete application must be posted, preferably by registered mail, not later than 31 October 2005, as indicated by the postmark to:
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7. |
In submitting an application, applicants accept the procedures and conditions as described in this call and in the documents to which it refers. In compiling their application, applicants may under no circumstances refer to any documents of any type submitted in prior applications. Any misrepresentation in supplying the required information may lead to the exclusion from the present call. |
(2) Ecology, protection of biodiversity.