Call for expression of interest for the selection of the standing high-level Chair of the Panel referred to in Article 143 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 and his/her Deputy
Date: 2021-04-26
Institutions: Directorate-General for Budget, European Commission
Subjects: administrative sanction, committee (EU), competition (EU), financial control, financial regulation, fraud against the EU, job vacancy, president of an institution, recruitment, vice-president of an institution








CA2021147EN.01000101.xml










26.4.2021   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


CA 147/1






Call for expression of interest for the selection of the standing high-level Chair of the Panel referred to in Article 143 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 and his/her Deputy
(2021/C 147 A/01)
 
I.   The Panel

The European Commission manages the Early-Detection and Exclusion System (EDES). EDES was set up in 2016 and is rooted in the Financial Regulation applicable to the EU budget revised in 2018 (1) (Articles 135 to 145). EDES is a strong tool for reinforcing the protection of the EU’s financial interests against unreliable persons and entities and fraudsters (e.g. exclusion from participation in obtaining EU and/or European Developments Funds (EDF) funds and, where applicable, the publication thereof).
The coherence of the administrative sanctions procedure is ensured by the panel referred to in Article 143 of the Financial Regulation (‘the Panel’).
The key responsibilities of the Panel are the following:






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to assess all requests for administrative sanctions by the authorising officers of the Commission and the other Union institutions and bodies,










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to adopt recommendations on administrative sanctions, i.e. exclusion and/or financial penalties and, where applicable, the publication thereof, following a request from an authorising officer by delegation.




Pursuant to Article 93 of the Financial Regulation, the EDES Panel is also responsible for assessing cases of internal financial irregularities by EU staff. When dealing with such cases, the Panel is composed of 3 additional members (a representative of the competent appointing authority, a member appointed by the competent staff committee and a member of the legal service of the Union institution or body concerned).
The Panel has its own Rules of Procedures established by Commission Decision 2018/1220 (2). These rules govern the way the Panel organises its work.
The Panel is composed of:






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a standing high-level independent chair (‘the Chair’),










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two representatives of the Commission (two recurring members designated by the Commission),










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one representative of the requesting authorising officer.




The Panel is supported by a permanent secretariat provided by the Commission and administratively attached to the Directorate-General for Budget. The deliberations and written procedures before the Panel can be conducted in English, French or German.
II.   The Chair of the Panel

The Chair represents the Panel. He/she presides over all sessions of the Panel, which may take place by written procedure. With the assistance of the permanent secretariat, the Chair:






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convenes and chairs the Panel’s meetings and organises the work of the Panel,










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sets the schedule of the Panel’s meetings, after consulting the permanent members, and invites, as necessary, any other authorising officers to attend the meetings of the Panel in the capacity as observers,










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delegates to another member of the Panel, as and when appropriate, the power to sign on his/her behalf, at his/her direction, documents relating to a particular case or to administrative matters,










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ensures, where appropriate, close cooperation with OLAF and, in future, with the European Prosecutor,










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facilitates the decision-making process and consensus between the members of the Panel in view of establishing the preliminary classification in law and of the adoption of its recommendations.




The indicative number of working days per year required to accomplish the tasks described above is as follows:






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ten (10) working days to attend meetings in Brussels,










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sixty (60) working days to carry out preparatory work (which can be carried out remotely).




The term of office is 5 years and is not renewable.
The Chair is appointed as a special adviser within the meaning of Article 5 of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union. In order to respect his/her independence and the duration of his/her mandate, his/her contracts as a special adviser will be renewed until the end of his/her mandate.
III.   The Deputy of the Chair

The Deputy replaces the Chair in the absence or reasonable impediment affecting the latter. The Deputy is also appointed as a special adviser within the meaning of Article 5 of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union. The indicative number of working days is similar to the Chair’s.
IV.   Eligibility criteria (common to the Chair and his/her Deputy)

The Chair and his/her Deputy shall be chosen from among former members of the Court of Auditors, the Court of Justice or former officials who have had at least the rank of Director-General in an institution of the Union other than the Commission.
In addition, candidates must fulfil the following formal criteria by the closing date for applications:






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Nationality: be a national of a Member State of the European Union.










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University degree or diploma:






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Have a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies, attested by a diploma, where the normal period of university education is 4 years or more, or










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Have a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies, attested by a diploma, and appropriate professional experience of at least 1 year, where the normal period of university education is at least 3 years (this 1 year’s professional experience cannot be included in the postgraduate professional experience required below).














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Professional experience: have at least 15 years’ postgraduate experience acquired after the qualification referred to above was obtained, out of which 5 years in domains relevant to law, economics and/or finance.










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Languages: have a thorough knowledge of one of the official languages of the European Union and an adequate knowledge of at least one other official language.










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Independence and conflict of interests: he/she will be independent in the performance of his or her duties. He/she will not have a conflict of interests between his or her duties as Chair of the panel/Deputy of the Chair and any other official duties.




V.   Selection criteria

The Chair of the Panel and his/her Deputy will be selected on the basis of:






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their personal and professional qualities, and










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their extensive experience in legal and financial matters and proven competence.




Essential criteria:






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a thorough knowledge of the legal and financial sectors of the European Union,










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strong conceptual and analytical skills,










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excellent written and oral communication skills,










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confirmed communication skills in order to communicate efficiently and effectively with internal and external stakeholders and to defend the Panel’s position in European and international fora.




Desirable criteria:






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thorough knowledge of the EU Financial Regulations and Staff Regulations,










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knowledge of the European Commission’s Anti-fraud Strategy,










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experience in the treatment of cases of fraud and irregularities at Union or national level,










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professional experience in presenting the results of analyses at conferences, seminars or workshops,










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experience in high jurisdictional functions.




VI.   Independence and declaration of interests (common to the Chair and his/her Deputy)

The Chair of the Panel and his/her Deputy must act independently and may neither seek nor take instructions from the institutions or bodies of the European Union or any other public or private body.
The Chair of the Panel and his/her Deputy will be required to submit:






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a declaration of commitment to act independently in the public interest,










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a declaration listing all other activities carried out,










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a declaration in respect of any interests which might be considered prejudicial to their independence.




Candidates must confirm their willingness to provide these declarations in their application.
VII.   Terms of appointment (common to the Chair and his/her Deputy)

The Chair of the Panel and his/her Deputy will be appointed following a selection procedure.
Having assessed all applications, the most qualified candidates who are considered to possess the most suitable profile will be called for an interview.
The Commission will establish a ranking list of the two most qualified candidates in the following order:






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first in the ranking list will be appointed Chair of the Panel,










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second in the ranking list will be appointed Deputy of the Chair.




In establishing the above ranking, the Commission will ensure that the two persons selected, as respectively Chair and his/her Deputy, have complementary professional profiles and that they have gained their extensive experience in two different EU institutions.
VIII.   Equal opportunities

The European Union institutions apply a policy of equal opportunities and accept applications without discrimination on the ground of gender, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation.
IX.   Conditions of employment of the Chair and his/her Deputy

The Chair of the Panel and his/her Deputy will be appointed for a non-renewable period of 5 years.
The Chair of the Panel and his/her Deputy will receive a fee for each day of work. This fee will be calculated on the basis of the basic salary of an official of the European Union in grade AD 16, step 1. It will be subject to a tax for the benefit of the European Union.
The Panel is based in Brussels (Belgium). The Chair of the Panel and his/her Deputy will be entitled to reimbursement of mission expenses on the terms laid down in the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union and in the implementing provisions adopted by the Commission.
X.   How to apply



Please note:



Candidates may apply for both functions of Chair and Deputy or for one or the other. This should be specified clearly in the candidate’s application.

Applications should be submitted in electronic format to the following address: BUDG-AVIS-DE-VACANCES@ec.europa.eu
If you require more information, please send an email to Panel-secretariat-BUDG@ec.europa.eu
For applications to be valid, please send your CV in Word or PDF format, along with a motivation letter (maximum 8 000 characters) that may be submitted in any of the official languages of the European Union to the email address indicated above.
You also need a valid email address. This address will be used to confirm that we have received your application and to keep you informed about the outcome of the selection procedure. Please inform the European Commission of any change of email address.
To facilitate the selection process, all communication with candidates concerning the selection procedure will be in English.
XI.   Deadline

The closing deadline for applications is 10 working days from the date of the publication of the call for expression of interest in the Official Journal of the European Union.
The Commission reserves the right to extend the closing date of this call for expression of interest by publication in the Official Journal of the European Union only.
XII.   Protection of personal data

The Commission will ensure that candidates’ personal data are processed as required by Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3). This applies in particular to the confidentiality and security of such data.


(1)  Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 (OJ L 193, 30.7.2018, p. 1).

(2)  Commission Decision (EU) 2018/1220 of 6 September 2018 on the rules of procedure of the panel referred to in Article 143 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 226, 7.9.2018, p. 7).

(3)  Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39).