2006/210/EC: Commission Decision of  28 February 2006  setting up a group of high-level national regulatory experts
Date: 2006-02-28
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: advisory committee (EU), appointment of members, drafting of EU law, observer, self-employed person, simplification of legislation

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(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 28 February 2006

setting up a group of high-level national regulatory experts

(2006/210/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Whereas:

in the European Union’ (1),

On 16 March 2005 the Commission adopted the
communication entitled ‘Better Regulation for Growth
and Jobs
in which it
announced its intention to set up,
in the course of
2005, a group of high-level national regulatory experts
regulation
to facilitate
measures at both national and EU level.

the development of better

This group shall advise the Commission on better regu-
lation issues in general; it shall not give its opinions on
initiatives or projects concerning the development of
specific legislative proposals.

Article 1

The Commission hereby establishes an expert group entitled
‘Group of high-level national regulatory experts’, hereinafter
referred to as ‘the group’.

Article 2

Task

The Commission may consult
the group on all questions
concerning better regulation policy and the development of
related measures at both national and EU levels.

The group’s task is to:

— provide an efficient interface between the Commission and
key governmental
the
Commission in improving the regulatory environment for
enterprises,
the social partners and
citizens at large,

industry, consumers,

authorities,

in order

to assist

The group shall be composed of high-level national
experts
the Commission acting on
from the Member States, and open for
proposals
observers from acceding countries.

appointed by

— contribute to the spread of best practices developed both
at EU level and at national level on better regulation within
the EU,

The group of high-level national
regulatory experts
should therefore be set up and its terms of reference
and structures detailed,

(1) COM(2005) 97 final, 16 March 2005.

— strengthen cooperation between the Commission and the
Member States with a view to implementing better regu-
lation at national
to examine jointly
how EU legislation is transposed and implemented by
Member
additional
requirements or procedures in the course of its transpo-
sition),

in particular,

introduction

States

level;

(i.e.

the

of

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

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— contribute to the development of a coherent set of common
indicators to monitor progress as regards the quality of the
regulatory environment both at EU level and in the Member
States themselves, as a basis for benchmarking within their
national Lisbon programmes,

— advise the Commission on better

in
particular:
economic,
the
social and environmental impacts, including administrative
costs; consultation practices; and the various types of regu-
lation possible.

regulation issues,

assessment of

simplification;

Article 3

Composition — Appointment

The Commission charges the Secretary General to appoint
the candidates

the group on the basis of

1.
the members of
proposed by the Member States.

The group shall comprise one or,

in some exceptional
2.
cases (1), two members per Member State. Alternate members
can be appointed by the Secretary General of the Commission
on Member State proposal and automatically replace members
who are absent or indisposed.

3.

The following provisions shall apply:

established by the group; they shall be disbanded as soon as
these have been fulfilled.

3.
The Chair may invite experts with specialist knowledge of
a topic entered on the agenda and observers, including acceding
countries (2), to attend meetings of the group or sub-groups
when this would be useful and/or necessary.

Information obtained by participating in the group’s or
the

4.
sub-group’s
Commission requests confidentiality.

deliberations may not

divulged

be

if

The group and its sub-groups shall normally meet in one
5.
of the locations where the Commission and its departments
following the procedures and timetable laid
have premises,
down by it. The
shall be provided by the
Commission.

secretariat

The group shall adopt its rules of procedure on the basis
the
the

procedure

standard

adopted

rules

by

of

6.
of
Commission (3).

— the members shall be high-level officials with experience in
the field concerned and representatives of a public authority,

7.
The Commission shall provide secretarial support for the
group and any sub-groups created under Article 4(2) of this
Decision.

— the members are appointed for a one year

renewable
mandate. They shall remain in office until such time as
they are replaced or their mandate ends,

— the members who are no longer able to contribute effec-
tively to the group’s deliberations, who resign or who do
not respect the conditions set out in the first or second
point of this Article or Article 287 of the Treaty establishing
the European Community may be
the
remaining period of their mandate,

replaced for

— the names of the appointed members shall be published on

the Internet site of the Commission.

Article 4

Operation

1.

The group is chaired by the Commission.

In agreement with the Commission, sub-groups may be
2.
set up to examine specific questions under terms of reference

(1) Two members per Member State may be appointed by the
Commission if there is shared competency at the level of the admin-
istration in that Member State.

8.
in the
The Commission may publish on the Internet,
working language(s) of the group, any résumé, conclusion, or
partial conclusion or working document of
the group. The
working documents shall be published in accordance with the
availability of the different language versions.

Article 5

Meeting expenses

The Commission shall reimburse travel and, where appropriate
subsistence expenses for members, experts and observers in
connection with the group’s activities in accordance with the
Commission’s internal rules on the compensation of external
experts. The Commission shall reimburse one member of the
group of high-level national regulatory experts per Member
State. The members shall not be paid for their duties.

(2) Experts from acceding States having signed the Accession Treaty in
accordance with the Communication ‘Towards the Enlarged Union
— Strategy Paper and Report of the European Commission on the
progress towards accession by each of the candidate countries’ of 9
October 2002 (COM(2002) 700 final) and with Article 7 of the
Commission Decision C(2005) 874 of 24 March 2005,
to
reinforce
into
integration of
the gradual
Community structures.

acceding countries

(3) See Annex III of SEC(2005) 1004 adopted by the Commission on

27 July 2005.

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Meeting expenses are reimbursed within the limits of the annual budget allocated to the group by the
responsible Commission services.

Article 6

Entry into force

The decision shall
31 December 2009.

take effect on the day of

its adoption by the Commission.

It shall apply until

Done at Brussels, 28 February 2006.

For the Commission
The President

José Manuel BARROSO