20.12.2013 EN Official Journal of the European Union C 373/23
COMMISSION DECISION
of 12 December 2013
establishing the European Research Council
2013/C 373/09
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION
,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Council Decision 2013/743/EU of 3 December 2013 establishing the specific programme implementing horizon 2020 — The Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2014-2020) (1), and in particular Article 6(1) and (2) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) In order to ensure continuity with the actions and activities conducted under Council Decision 2006/972/EC (2), the European Research Council (‘ERC’) to be established under Decision 2013/743/EU should replace and succeed the ERC established by Commission Decision 2007/134/EC (3).
(2) Article 6(2) of Decision 2013/743/EU provides that the ERC shall be composed of an independent Scientific Council and a dedicated implementation structure. The dedicated implementation structure should be set up as an external structure in the form of an executive agency to be established by a separate act in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 (4).
(3) The Scientific Council should be composed of scientists, engineers and scholars of the highest repute. Its members should be independent of extraneous interests and should be appointed in a manner to ensure the continuity of the work of the Scientific Council.
(4) In order to ensure timely implementation of the specific programme, the Scientific Council of the ERC set up by Decision 2007/134/EC has already established preliminary positions in anticipation of the measures to be adopted in accordance with Article 7 of Decision 2013/743/EU. Those preliminary positions should be endorsed or rejected by the Scientific Council established by this Decision.
(5) The necessary provisions for the operation of the Scientific Council should be laid down.
(6) Provisions should be made to ensure a smooth cooperation between the Scientific Council and the dedicated implementation structure of the ERC.
(7) The Scientific Council should have access to the documents and data necessary for its work in compliance with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council (5).
(8) Decision 2013/743/EU provides for the compensation of the members of the Scientific Council for the tasks they perform and rules should be laid down for that purpose.
(9) Decision 2007/134/EC should be repealed,
Establishment of the European Research Council
The European Research Council (‘ERC’) is hereby established for the period from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2020. It shall replace and succeed the European Research Council set up by Commission Decision 2007/134/EC.
Members of the Scientific Council
1.   The Scientific Council shall be composed of the President of the ERC (‘ERC President’) and 21 other members. The 21 persons listed in Annex I are hereby appointed as the other members of the Scientific Council for the term of office laid down therein.
2.   Members shall carry out their tasks independently of any outside influence. They shall inform the Commission in good time of any conflict of interests which might undermine their objectivity.
3.   Members shall be appointed for a term of up to four years, renewable once. A member may be appointed for a period of less than the maximum term to allow a staggered rotation of members. Members shall remain in office until they are replaced or their term expires.
4.   In duly justified cases, in order to maintain the integrity or continuity of the Scientific Council, the Commission may terminate the term of a member on its own initiative.
Operation of the Scientific Council
1.   The Scientific Council shall adopt its rules of procedure, as well as a code of conduct on confidentiality, conflict of interest and processing of personal data in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001.
2.   The Scientific Council shall meet in plenary as required by its work. Summary minutes of the plenary meetings shall be published on the ERC website.
3.   The Chair may decide to hold meetings in closed session in accordance with the rules of procedure of the Scientific Council.
4.   The Scientific Council may set up, from amongst its members, standing committees, working groups and other structures addressing specific tasks of the Scientific Council.
5.   The preliminary positions of the Scientific Council set up by Decision 2007/134/EC on the measures to be adopted in accordance with Article 7 of Decision 2013/743/EU shall be endorsed or rejected by the Scientific Council established under this Decision immediately after its establishment.
Cooperation within the European Research Council
The Scientific Council and the dedicated implementation structure shall ensure coherence between the strategic and operational aspects of all the ERC’s activities. The ERC President, the Vice-Chairs of the Scientific Council and the Director of the dedicated implementation structure shall hold regular coordination meetings to ensure an effective cooperation.
Access to documents and data
1.   The Commission and the dedicated implementation structure shall provide the Scientific Council with the documents, data and assistance necessary for its work allowing it to operate under conditions of autonomy and independence, in compliance with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001.
2.   The members of the Scientific Council shall use the documents and data provided to them in accordance with paragraph 1 only for the purposes and tasks for which they are provided, and they shall be bound by an obligation of confidentiality.
3.   Appropriate organisational and technical measures to ensure the security and confidentiality of the documents and data shall be taken by the Scientific Council, in order to prevent any unauthorised disclosure or access, accidental or unlawful destruction, loss or alteration of data and documents.
4.   The members of the Scientific Council shall give due care to the legitimacy, adequacy, relevance, accuracy, necessity and the limitation in time of the collection, processing and storage of personal data.
5.   Where access to documents and data or access to personal data cannot be granted for reasons related to the protection of personal data, confidentiality, security or public interest, the Commission and the dedicated implementation structure shall provide the Scientific Council with a written statement of those reasons, as well as any information on the topic in question that they consider possible to provide within the provisions of the regulations.
Compensation of the members of the Scientific Council other than the ERC President
Rules on the honoraria for the tasks performed by Scientific Council members other than the ERC President and the reimbursement of their travel and subsistence expenses are set out in Annex II.
Repeal
Decision 2007/134/EC is repealed. References to the repealed Decision shall be construed as references to this Decision.
Entry into force
This Decision shall enter into force on 1 January 2014.