2007/467/EC: Commission Decision of 28 June 2007 setting up the Expert Group on Radio Frequency Identification
Date: 2007-06-28
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: consultancy, data protection, self-employed person, transmission network, waveband

6.7.2007

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Official Journal of the European Union

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COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 28 June 2007

setting up the Expert Group on Radio Frequency Identification

(2007/467/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

(6)

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

It is appropriate to fix a period for the application of this
Decision. The Commission will in due time consider the
advisability of an extension,

Article 153 of
the Treaty assigned the European
Community the task of ensuring a high level of
protection for consumers, by promoting their right to
information and to organising themselves in order to
safeguard their interests. Article 163 provides that the
Community shall encourage industry to become more
competitive at international level and encourage under-
takings to exploit the internal market potential to the
common
full,
standards. Article 157 provides that
the Community
and Member States shall encourage an environment
favourable to initiative and shall foster better exploitation
of the industrial potential of policies.

including through the definition of

entitled

Commission

Communication

‘Radio
The
Frequency Identification (RFID) in Europe: steps towards
a policy framework’ (1) (hereinafter ‘the Communication’)
announced the creation of the expert group on Radio
‘RFID’) which
Frequency
should allow a dialogue between stakeholders, in order
to fully understand and advise on action which should be
taken in relation to the concerns raised in the Com-
munication.

Identification

(hereinafter

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

The Expert Group on Radio Frequency Identification
The ‘Expert Group on Radio Frequency Identification’ group of
experts, hereinafter referred to as ‘the group’ is hereby set up
with effect from 1.7.2007.

Article 2

Task

The group's tasks shall be to:

(a) To provide advice to the Commission on the content of a
Recommendation which shall set out the principles that
public authorities and other stakeholders should apply in
respect of RFID usage and on the content of other
Commission initiatives related to this field;

(b) To develop guidelines on how RFID applications should
operate taking into account the views of stakeholders and
issues relating to long-term users as well as economic and
societal aspects of RFID technologies;

It is therefore necessary to set up a group of experts in
the field of RFID and to define its tasks and its structure.

(c) To support

the Commission in its efforts to promote
awareness campaigns at Member States and citizen level
about the opportunities and challenges of RFID.

The group should help to develop a dialogue between
consumer organisations, market actors, and national and
European authorities,
including data protection auth-
orities.

Personal data relating to members of the group should
be processed in accordance with Regulation (EC) No
45/2001 of
the
the European Parliament
Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of
individuals with regard to the processing of personal
data by the Community institutions and bodies and on
the free movement of such data (2).

and of

(d) To provide objective information and facilitate the exchange
of experience and good practices in respect of the oppor-
tunities and challenges of RFID technology, including appli-
cations
to provide
objective information on the Community and national regu-
latory frameworks as regards data protection and privacy,
and on other policy concerns.

for Europe's economy and society;

Article 3

Consultation

(1) COM(2007) 96 final.
(2) OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.

The Commission may consult the group on any matter relating
to the implementation in Europe of a safe, secure, privacy-
friendly and effective approach to RFID.

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

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Article 4

Membership — Appointment

The following experts shall be invited to participate in the

5.
group's deliberations as observers:

1.

The group shall be composed of up to 35 members.

(a) Academic researchers and practitioners;

The Director-General of DG ‘Information Society and
2.
Media’ or his/her representative shall appoint
the members
and observers of the group from specialists with competence
in the areas referred to in Articles 2 and 3.1 and on the
proposal
to
recommend experts. Alternate members for the members of
the group shall be appointed in equal numbers and on the
same conditions as the members. An alternate member shall
automatically replace the member who is absent or indisposed.

organisations

invited

been

have

that

of

(b) Technology experts,

in particular with regard to the next

generation of networked RFIDs (‘Internet of Things’);

(c) Legal experts who shall provide advice on existing legis-

lation.

3. Members shall be appointed to ensure a balanced rep-
resentation of the various stakeholders and, more specifically,
will include representatives from the following areas:

the group are appointed for a two-year
6. Members of
renewable term of office. They shall remain in office until
such time as they are replaced or their term of office ends.

(a) Civil society:

(i) the end-user communities that are subjected to RFID
systems (citizens, consumers, patients, employees);

(ii) privacy organisations.

(b) Interested parties:

(i) users from different application sectors (for example,
logistics, automotive, aerospace, health, retail, pharma-
ceuticals);

(ii) parties that are actively involved in setting up RFID
systems (such as RFID chip producers, designers and
manufacturers of packaged tags and readers, software
and systems integrators, service providers, and privacy
and security solution providers);

(iii) standardisation bodies.

The following public authorities shall be invited to par-

4.
ticipate in the group's deliberations as observers:

(a) Representatives of the Member States assuming Presidency
of the EU over the course of the Expert Group term of
office;

(b) Representatives of data protection authorities.

7. Members who are no longer able to contribute effectively
to the group's deliberations, who resign or who do not respect
the conditions set out in paragraphs three to five of this Article
or Article 287 of the Treaty may be replaced for the remaining
period of their term of office.

The names of the organisations mentioned in paragraph 2
8.
of this article are published on the Internet site of the DG
‘Information Society and Media’. Data on members
are
collected, processed and published in accordance with the
provisions of Regulation (EC) No 45/2001.

Article 5

Operation

The group shall be chaired by a representative of the

1.
Commission.

In agreement with the Commission, sub-groups may be
the terms of
shall be

2.
set up to examine specific questions under
reference established by the group. Such groups
dissolved as soon as their mandates are fulfilled.

The Commission's

representative may ask experts or
3.
observers with specific competence on a subject on the
agenda to participate in the group's or sub-group's deliberations
if this is useful and/or necessary.

4.
Information obtained by participating in the deliberation
of a group or sub-group may not be divulged if, in the opinion
of
information relates to confidential
matters.

the Commission,

that

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The group and its sub-groups shall normally meet on
5.
Commission premises in accordance with the procedures and
schedule established by it. The Commission shall provide sec-
retarial services. Other Commission officials with an interest in
the proceedings may attend meetings of the group and its sub-
groups.

6.
The group shall adopt its rules of procedure on the basis
of the standard rules of procedure adopted by the Commission.

7.
The Commission may publish, in the original language of
the document concerned, any summary, conclusion, or partial
conclusion or working document of the group.

The members shall not be paid for the services they render.

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

Article 7

Applicability

The decision shall apply until 31 March 2009.

Article 6

Meeting expenses

Done at Brussels, 28 June 2007.

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 rules on the compensation of external experts.

For the Commission

Viviane REDING
Member of the Commission

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RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE GROUP OF EXPERTS ON RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION (RFID)

ANNEX

THE EXPERT GROUP on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID),

Having regard to the Commission Decision of setting up an Expert Group on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), and
in particular Article 1,

Having regard to the standard rules of procedure published by the Commission,

HAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING RULES OF PROCEDURE:

Article 1

Convening a meeting

1. Meetings of the group are convened by the Chair, either on its own initiative, or at the request of a simple majority
of members after the Commission has given its consent.

Joint meetings of the group with other groups may be convened to discuss matters falling within their respective

2.
areas of responsibility.

Article 2

Agenda

The secretariat shall draw up the agenda under the responsibility of the Chair and send it to the members of the

1.
group.

2.

The agenda shall be adopted by the group at the start of the meeting.

Article 3

Forwarding of documents to group members

The secretariat shall send the invitation to the meeting and the draft agenda to the group members no later than

1.
30 calendar days before the date of the meeting.

The secretariat shall send drafts on which the group is consulted and all other working documents to the group

2.
members no later than 14 calendar days before the date of the meeting.

In urgent or exceptional cases, the time limits for sending the documentation mentioned in 1 and 2 may be reduced

3.
to five calendar days before the date of the meeting.

1.

As far as possible, the group shall adopt its opinions or reports by a consensus.

Article 4

Opinions of the group

2. When consensus cannot be reached, conflicting positions and related backgrounds will be reported so that different
positions are clearly understood.

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1. With the consent of the Commission, the group may set up sub-groups to examine specific questions on the basis
of terms of reference defined by the group; they shall be disbanded as soon as they have fulfilled those terms of reference.

Article 5

Sub-groups

2.

The sub-groups shall report to the group.

Article 6

Admission of third parties

The Commission representative may invite experts or observers with special expertise on a matter on the draft

1.
agenda to participate in the group's or sub-groups’ work where appropriate and/or necessary.

2.

Experts or observers are not present when the group adopts an opinion or report.

Article 7

Written procedure

If necessary, the group’s opinion on a specific question may be delivered via a written procedure. To this end, the
1.
secretariat sends the group members the drafts on which the group is being consulted and any other working documents.

2.
However, if a simple majority of group members asks for the question to be examined at a meeting of the group,
the written procedure shall be terminated without result and the Chair shall convene a meeting of the group as soon as
possible.

Article 8

Secretariat

The Commission shall provide secretarial support for the group and any sub-groups created under Article 5(1) above.

Article 9

Summary minutes of the meetings

Summary minutes on the discussion on each point on the agenda and the opinions delivered by the group are drafted by
the secretariat under the responsibility of the Chair. The minutes do not mention the individual position of the members
during the group’s deliberations. These are adopted by the group.

Article 10

Attendance list

At each meeting, the secretariat shall draw up, under the responsibility of the Chair, an attendance list specifying, where
appropriate, the authorities, organisations or bodies to which the participants belong.

Article 11

Prevention of conflicts of interest

At the start of each meeting, any member whose participation in the group’s deliberations would raise a conflict of

1.
interest on a specific item on the agenda shall inform the Chair.

In the event of such a conflict of interest, the member shall abstain from discussing the items on the agenda

2.
concerned and from any vote on these items.

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Article 12

Correspondence

1.

2.

Correspondence relating to the group shall be addressed to the Commission, for the attention of the Chair.

Correspondence for group members shall be sent to the (e-mail) address which they provide for that purpose.

Article 13

Transparency

The principles and conditions concerning public access to the group’s documents are the same as laid down in
1.
Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access
to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents (1). It is for the Commission to take a decision on requests
for access to those documents.

2.

The group’s deliberations are confidential.

In agreement with the Commission, the group may, by a simple majority of its members, decide to open its

3.
deliberations to the public.

Article 14

Protection of personal data

All processing of personal data for the purposes of these rules of procedure shall be in accordance with Regulation
(EC) 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with
regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such
data (2).

(1) OJ L 145, 31.5.2002, p. 43.
(2) OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.