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            COUNCIL DECISION         

of 4 October 2004         

establishing a Social Protection Committee and repealing Decision 2000/436/EC

(2004/689/EC)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 144 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (1),

Whereas:

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

1.   A Social Protection Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Committee), with advisory status, is hereby established to promote cooperation on social protection policies between Member States and with the Commission, in full compliance with the Treaty and with due regard for the powers of the Community's institutions and organs.

2.   The tasks of the Committee shall be:

3.   The Committee shall work, as appropriate, in cooperation with other relevant bodies and committees dealing with social and economic policy matters, such as the Employment Committee and the Economic Policy Committee.

4.   In fulfilling its mandate, the Committee shall establish appropriate contacts with the social partners and social non-governmental organisations, account being taken of their respective roles and responsibilities in the social protection sphere. The European Parliament shall also be informed regarding the activities of the Committee.

Article 2

1.   The Committee shall consist of two representatives appointed by each Member State and two representatives of the Commission. The representatives may be assisted by two alternates.

Member States and the Commission shall use their best endeavours to achieve a gender balance in the composition of delegations.

2.   The Committee may call on external experts where its agenda so requires.

3.   The Committee shall establish contacts with representatives of the candidate countries.

Article 3

1.   The Committee shall elect its chairperson from among the representatives of the Member States for a non-renewable term of two years.

The chairperson shall be assisted by four vice-chairpersons of whom two shall be elected by the Committee from among its members for a term of two years. The third shall be a representative from the Member State holding the Presidency of the Council and the fourth shall be a representative from the Member State that will hold the next Presidency.

2.   Meetings of the Committee shall be convened by the chairperson, either on his or her own initiative or at the request of at least half of the members of the Committee.

3.   The Committee shall establish its own rules of procedure. Expenses shall be reimbursed in accordance with the administrative rules in force.

4.   The Commission shall provide the analytical and organisational support for the Committee. It shall designate a member of its staff as Secretary, who shall act on the instructions of the Committee when assisting the Committee in carrying out its tasks.

The Commission shall liaise with the General Secretariat of the Council with regard to the holding of meetings.

Article 4

The Committee may entrust the study of specific questions to its alternate members or may establish working groups to this end. In such cases, the chair shall be taken by either a member or an alternate member of the Committee or by a Commission official, appointed by the Committee.

The working groups may call upon experts to assist them.

Article 5

Decision 2000/436/EC shall be repealed as from the date of the first meeting of the Committee. The first meeting of the Committee shall take place no later than four months after the date of adoption of this Decision.

Done at Luxembourg, 4 October 2004.

For the Council

The President

A. J. DE GEUS            

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(1)  Opinion delivered on 10 February 2004 (not yet published in the Official Journal).

(2)OJ C 8, 12.1.2000, p. 7.

(3)OJ L 172, 12.7.2000, p. 26.

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