FantasticSearch

1. The Management Board shall appoint the Executive Director from a list of at least three candidates proposed by the Commission following an open and transparent selection procedure. The selection procedure shall provide for publication in the Official Journal of the European Union and in other appropriate media of a call for expressions of interest. The Management Board shall appoint the Executive Director on the grounds of merit, proven experience in the field of large-scale IT systems, administrative, financial and management skills and knowledge with respect to data protection.

2. Before appointment, the candidates proposed by the Commission shall be invited to make a statement before the competent committee or committees of the European Parliament and answer questions from the committee members. After hearing the statement and the responses, the European Parliament shall adopt an opinion setting out its view and may indicate a preferred candidate.

3. The Management Board shall appoint the Executive Director taking those views into account.

4. If the Management Board takes a decision to appoint a candidate other than the candidate whom the European Parliament indicated as its preferred candidate, the Management Board shall inform the European Parliament and the Council in writing of the manner in which the opinion of the European Parliament was taken into account.

5. The term of office of the Executive Director shall be five years. By the end of that period, the Commission shall undertake an assessment that takes into account its evaluation of the Executive Director’s performance and the Agency’s future tasks and challenges.

6. The Management Board, acting on a proposal from the Commission that takes into account the assessment referred to in paragraph 5, may extend the term of office of the Executive Director once for no more than five years.

7. The Management Board shall inform the European Parliament if it intends to extend the Executive Director’s term of office. Within the one-month period before any such extension, the Executive Director shall be invited to make a statement before the competent committee or committees of the European Parliament and answer questions from the committee members.

8. An Executive Director whose term of office has been extended may not participate in another selection procedure for the same post at the end of the overall period.

9. The Executive Director may be removed from office only upon a decision of the Management Board, acting on a proposal from a majority of its members with the right to vote or from the Commission.

10. The Management Board shall reach decisions on appointment, extension of the term of office or removal from office of the Executive Director on the basis of a two-thirds majority of votes of its members with the right to vote.

11. For the purpose of concluding the employment contract with the Executive Director, the Agency shall be represented by the Chairperson of the Management Board. The Executive Director shall be engaged as a temporary agent of the Agency under Article 2(a) of the Conditions of Employment of other Servants.