2007/602/EC: Commission Decision of 5 September 2007 setting up the stakeholder dialogue group in the areas of public health and consumer protection
Date: 2007-09-05
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: advisory committee (EU), consultancy, consumer protection, public health

6.9.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 234/13

(Acts adopted under the EC Treaty/Euratom Treaty whose publication is not obligatory)

II

DECISIONS

COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 5 September 2007

setting up the stakeholder dialogue group in the areas of public health and consumer protection

(2007/602/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

(4)

The Communication from the Commission entitled:
Follow-up to the Green Paper ‘European Transparency
Initiative’ (3) announced the intention to raise further
level of quality of Commission's consul-
the general
tations.

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Whereas:

(5) With a view to advising the Commission on improving
the stakeholder consultation process in the areas of
public health and consumer protection, the Commission
may need to call upon the expertise of specialists in an
advisory body.

(1)

(2)

(3)

Article 153 of the Treaty assigns the Community the task
of ensuring a high level of consumer protection, as well
as promoting their right to information and to organise
themselves
In
addition, consumer protection requirements are to be
taken into account in defining and implementing other
Community policies and activities.

to safeguard their

in order

interests.

the principles of

In accordance with Protocol (No 30) on the application
of
subsidiarity and proportionality
(1997) (1),
the Commission should consult widely
before proposing legislation.

in its White Paper on
The Commission undertook,
European Governance (2), to help reinforcing the culture
of consultation and dialogue in the Community.

(6)

(7)

(8)

It is therefore necessary to set up a stakeholder dialogue
group in the areas of public health and consumer
protection and to define its tasks and its structure.

stakeholder dialogue group should advise

the
The
Commission on best practice
consultation
process and also help it to better tailor its stakeholder
involvement processes to stakeholders' needs in the areas
of public health and consumer protection.

in the

The stakeholder dialogue group should be composed of a
balanced representation of
from both
industry (federations and individual companies) and
non-governmental organisations,
the
different policy
the Directorate-
General for Health and Consumer Protection.

concerned by

stakeholders,

covered by

areas

(1) OJ C 321E, 29.12.2006, p. 308.
(2) COM(2001) 428 final.

(3) COM(2007) 127 final.

L 234/14

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

6.9.2007

(9)

(10)

(11)

Members of the stakeholder dialogue group should be
appointed in such a way as to secure the highest
relevant
standards of competence, a broad range of
expertise
the
consistent with these
broadest possible geographic distribution within the
Community, as well as a gender balance.

criteria,

and,

Rules on the disclosure of information by members of
the stakeholder dialogue group should be provided for in
this Decision. Such rules should be without prejudice to
the Commission’s rules on security as set out in the
Annex to Commission Decision 2001/844/EC, ECSC,
Euratom of 29 November 2001 amending its internal
Rules of Procedure (1).

Personal data relating to members of the stakeholder
dialogue group should be processed in accordance with
Regulation (EC) No 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),

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

The stakeholder dialogue group
The stakeholder dialogue group, hereinafter referred to as ‘the
group’, is hereby established with effect from 10 October 2007.

Article 2

Task

1.
The Commission may consult the group on any matter
relating to the general improvement of the stakeholder consul-
tation process in the areas of public health and consumer
protection.

2.

The group's task is to:

(a) consider the issue of stakeholder representativeness;

(b) discuss the issue of stakeholder asymmetries and advise the
Commission on possible methods for consultation which
respect and adapt to the context of the stakeholders;

(1) OJ L 317, 3.12.2001, p. 1. Decision as last amended by Decision

2006/548/EC (OJ L 215, 5.8.2006, p. 38).

(2) OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.

(c) examine criteria for consultations, which need a more
flexible and longer timeframe (more than eight weeks);

(d) consider the role of national platforms in building the
capacity of non-governmental organisations
from the
Member States which acceded to the Community in 2004
and 2007 and look into the role of Member States in going
local.

3.
The chairperson of the group may advise the Commission
that it is desirable to consult the group on a specific question.

Article 3
Membership – Appointment

The members of the group, ‘members’, shall be appointed
1.
by the Commission from specialists with competence in the
areas referred to in Article 2(2) and who have responded to
the call for an expression of interest.

The group shall be composed of a maximum of 20

2.
members.

The members shall be appointed in a personal capacity
3.
and shall advise the Commission independently of any outside
influence.

4. Members shall be appointed for a four-year non-renewable
term of office. However, with regards to the first appointment
of members only, half of the members shall be appointed for a
two-year non-renewable term of office. Members shall remain in
office until such time as they are replaced or their term of office
ends.

5. Members who are no longer capable of contributing effec-
tively to the group’s deliberations, who resign or who do not
respect the conditions set out in paragraph 3 of this Article, or
Article 287 of the Treaty may be replaced for the remainder of
their term of office.

6. Members appointed in a personal capacity shall each year
in the public interest and a
sign an undertaking to act
declaration indicating the absence or existence of any interest
which may undermine their objectivity.

The names of members appointed in a personal capacity
the Health and
Protection Directorate-General. The names of
collected, processed and published in

7.
shall be published on the Internet site of
Consumer
members
accordance with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001.

shall be

6.9.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 234/15

The Commission shall publish on the Internet site of the
7.
in the
Health and Consumer Protection Directorate-General,
original
language of the document concerned, any summary,
conclusion, or partial conclusion or working document of the
group.

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 rules on the compensation of external experts.

The members, experts and observers shall not be remunerated
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.

Done at Brussels, 5 September 2007.

For the Commission

Markos KYPRIANOU
Member of the Commission

Article 4

Operation

1.

The group shall be chaired by the Commission.

2.
In agreement with the Commission, sub-groups may be
set up to examine specific questions under terms of reference
established by the group. Such groups shall be dissolved as soon
as their mandates are fulfilled.

3.
The chairperson may ask experts or 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.

Information obtained by participating in the deliberations
4.
of a group or
the
Commission states that such information relates to confidential
matters, without prejudice
to Decision
2001/844/EC, ECSC, Euratom.

sub-group shall not be divulged if

to the Annex

5.
The group and its sub-groups shall normally meet on
Commission premises in accordance with the procedures and
schedule established by it. The Commission shall provide secre-
tarial 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 of the group of experts
adopted by the Commission (1).

(1) Annex III to SEC(2005) 1004.