CHAPTER III

The Agency shall be a Union body and shall have legal personality. In each of the Member States, the Agency shall enjoy the most extensive legal capacity accorded to legal persons under national law. It may, in particular, acquire or dispose of movable and immovable property and may be a party to legal proceedings. It may also conclude agreements concerning the seat of the Agency and the sites set up in accordance with paragraph 4 with the Member States on whose territories the seat and the technical and backup sites are situated (host Member States). The Agency shall be represented by its Executive Director. The seat of the Agency shall be Tallinn, Estonia. The tasks relating to development and operational management referred to in Article 1(3) and Articles 3, 4, 5 and 7 shall be carried out in Strasbourg, France. A backup site capable of ensuring the operation of a large-scale IT system in the event of a failure of such a system shall be installed in Sankt Johann im Pongau, Austria, if a backup site is provided for in the legislative instrument governing its development, establishment, operation and use. The Agency’s administrative and management structure shall comprise: a Management Board; an Executive Director; Advisory Groups. The Agency’s structure shall also include: a Data Protection Officer; a Security Officer; an Accounting Officer. In order to ensure that the Agency carry out its tasks, the Management Board shall: appoint, and if appropriate dismiss, the Executive Director, in accordance with Article 18; exercise disciplinary authority over the Executive Director and oversee his performance including the implementation of the Management Board’s decisions; establish the Agency’s organisational structure after consulting the Commission; establish the rules of procedure of the Agency after consulting the Commission; approve, following a proposal by the Executive Director, the Headquarters Agreement concerning the seat of the Agency and Agreements concerning the technical and backup sites set up in accordance with Article 10(4) to be signed by the Executive Director with the host Member States; in agreement with the Commission, adopt the necessary implementing measures referred to in Article 110 of the Staff Regulations of Officials; adopt the necessary implementing measures on the secondment of national experts to the Agency; adopt a multi-annual work programme based on the tasks referred to in Chapter II on the basis of a draft submitted by the Executive Director as referred to in Article 17, after consulting the Advisory Groups referred to in Article 19, and following receipt of the Commission’s opinion. The multi-annual work programme shall, without prejudice to the annual budgetary procedure, include a multi-annual budget estimate and ex ante evaluations in order to structure the objectives and the different stages of the multi-annual planning; adopt a multi-annual staff policy plan and a draft annual work programme and submit them by 31 March each year to the Commission and the budgetary authority; by 30 September each year, and after receiving the opinion of the Commission, adopt by a two-thirds majority of its members with the right to vote, and in accordance with the annual budgetary procedure and the Union legislative programme in areas under Articles 67 to 89 TFEU, the Agency’s annual work programme for the following year; and ensure that the adopted work programme is transmitted to the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission and published; by 31 March each year, adopt the Agency’s annual activity report for the previous year comparing, in particular, the results achieved with the objectives of the annual work programme and transmit it by 15 June of the same year to the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors; the annual activity report shall be published; carry out its functions relating to the Agency’s budget, including the implementation of pilot schemes as referred to in Article 9, pursuant to Article 32, Article 33(6) and Article 34; adopt the financial rules applicable to the Agency in accordance with Article 34; appoint an Accounting Officer who shall be functionally independent in the performance of his duties; ensure adequate follow-up to the findings and recommendations stemming from the various internal or external audit reports and evaluations; adopt the necessary security measures, including a security plan and a business continuity and disaster recovery plan, taking into account the possible recommendations of the security experts present in the Advisory Groups; appoint a Security Officer; appoint a Data Protection Officer in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001; adopt, by 22 May 2012, the practical arrangements for implementing Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001; adopt the reports on the technical functioning of SIS II pursuant to Article 50(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1987/2006 and Article 66(4) of Decision 2007/533/JHA respectively and of VIS pursuant to Article 50(3) of Regulation (EC) No 767/2008 and Article 17(3) of Decision 2008/633/JHA; adopt the annual report on the activities of the Central Unit of Eurodac pursuant to Article 24(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2725/2000; make comments on the European Data Protection Supervisor’s reports on the audits pursuant to Article 45 of Regulation (EC) No 1987/2006 and Article 42(2) of Regulation (EC) No 767/2008 and ensure appropriate follow-up of the audits; publish statistics related to SIS II pursuant to Article 50(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1987/2006 and Article 66(3) of Decision 2007/533/JHA respectively; compile statistics on the work of the Central Unit of Eurodac pursuant to Article 3(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2725/2000; ensure annual publication of the list of competent authorities authorised to search directly the data contained in SIS II pursuant to Article 31(8) of Regulation (EC) No 1987/2006 and Article 46(8) of Decision 2007/533/JHA, together with the list of Offices of the national systems of SIS II (N.SIS II) and SIRENE Bureaux as referred to in Article 7(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1987/2006 and Article 7(3) of Decision 2007/533/JHA respectively; ensure annual publication of the list of authorities designated pursuant to Article 15(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2725/2000; perform any other tasks conferred on it in accordance with this Regulation. The Management Board may advise the Executive Director on any matter strictly related to the development or operational management of large-scale IT systems. The Management Board shall be composed of one representative of each Member State and two representatives of the Commission. Each Member State and the Commission shall appoint the members of the Management Board as well as alternate members, by 22 January 2012. After the expiry of that period, the Commission shall convene the Management Board. In their absence, members shall be represented by their alternates. The members of the Management Board shall be appointed on the basis of the high level of their relevant experience and expertise in the field of large-scale IT systems in the area of freedom, security and justice, and knowledge in data protection. The term of office of the members shall be 4 years. It may be renewed once. Upon expiry of their term of office or in the event of their resignation, members shall remain in office until their appointments are renewed or until they are replaced. Countries associated with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis and Eurodac-related measures shall participate in the activities of the Agency. They shall each appoint one representative and an alternate to the Management Board. The Management Board shall elect a Chairperson and a deputy Chairperson from among its members. The term of office of the Chairperson and the deputy Chairperson shall be 2 years. Their term of office may be renewed once. If, however, their membership of the Management Board ends at any time during their term of office, their term of office shall automatically expire on that date also. The Chairperson and the deputy Chairperson shall be elected only from among those members of the Management Board who are appointed by Member States which are fully bound under Union law by the legislative instruments governing the development, establishment, operation and use of all large-scale IT systems managed by the Agency. The meetings of the Management Board shall be convened at the request of any of the following: its Chairperson; at least a third of its members; the Commission; the Executive Director. The Management Board shall hold at least one ordinary meeting every 6 months. The Executive Director shall participate in the meetings of the Management Board. The members of the Management Board may be assisted by experts who are members of the Advisory Groups. Europol and Eurojust may attend the meetings of the Management Board as observers when a question concerning SIS II in relation to the application of Decision 2007/533/JHA is on the agenda. Europol may also attend the meetings of the Management Board as an observer when a question concerning VIS, in relation to the application of Decision 2008/633/JHA, is on the agenda. The Management Board may invite any other person whose opinion may be of interest, to attend its meetings as an observer. The Agency shall provide the Management Board with a secretariat. Without prejudice to paragraph 5 of this Article, and to Article 12(1)(j) and Article 18(1) and (7), decisions of the Management Board shall be taken by a majority of all its members with a right to vote. Without prejudice to paragraph 3, each member in the Management Board shall have one vote. Each member appointed by a Member State which is bound under Union law by any legislative instrument governing the development, establishment, operation and use of a large-scale IT system managed by the Agency may vote on a question which concerns that large-scale IT system. In addition, as regards Denmark, it may vote on a question which concerns such a large-scale IT system, if it decides under Article 4 of the Protocol on the position of Denmark to implement the legislative instrument governing the development, establishment, operation and use of such a large-scale IT system in its national law. Regarding countries associated with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis and Eurodac-related measures, Article 37 shall apply. In the case of a disagreement among members about whether a specific large-scale IT system is affected by a vote, any decision that it is not so affected shall be taken by a two-thirds majority. The Executive Director shall not vote. More detailed voting arrangements shall be established in the rules of procedure of the Agency, in particular the conditions under which a member may act on behalf of another member as well as any quorum requirements, where appropriate. The Agency shall be managed and represented by its Executive Director. The Executive Director shall be independent in the performance of his duties. Without prejudice to the respective competences of the Commission and the Management Board, the Executive Director shall neither seek nor take instructions from any government or other body. Without prejudice to Article 12, the Executive Director shall assume full responsibility for the tasks entrusted to the Agency and shall be subject to the procedure for annual discharge by the European Parliament for the implementation of the budget. The European Parliament or the Council may invite the Executive Director to report on the implementation of his tasks. The Executive Director shall: ensure the Agency’s day-to-day administration; ensure the Agency’s operation in accordance with this Regulation; prepare and implement the procedures, decisions, strategies, programmes and activities adopted by the Management Board, within the limits specified by this Regulation, its implementing rules and the applicable law; establish and implement an effective system enabling regular monitoring and evaluations of: large-scale IT systems, including statistics; and the Agency, including the effective and efficient achievement of its objectives; participate, without the right to vote, in the meetings of the Management Board; exercise with respect to the Agency’s staff the powers laid down in Article 20(3) and manage staff matters; without prejudice to Article 17 of the Staff Regulations of Officials, establish confidentiality requirements in order to comply with Article 17 of Regulation (EC) No 1987/2006, Article 17 of Decision 2007/533/JHA and Article 26(9) of Regulation (EC) No 767/2008 respectively and in order to apply appropriate rules of professional secrecy or other equivalent duties of confidentiality to the Agency’s staff required to work with Eurodac data; negotiate and, after approval by the Management Board, sign a Headquarters Agreement concerning the seat of the Agency and Agreements concerning technical and backup sites with the Governments of the host Member States. The Executive Director shall submit to the Management Board for adoption, in particular, the drafts of the following: the Agency’s annual work programme and its annual activity report, after prior consultation of the Advisory Groups; the financial rules applicable to the Agency; the multi-annual work programme; the budget for the coming year, established on the basis of activity-based budgeting; the multi-annual Staff Policy Plan; the terms of reference for the evaluation referred to in Article 31; the practical arrangements for implementing Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001; the necessary security measures including a security plan, and a business continuity and disaster recovery plan; reports on the technical functioning of each large-scale IT system referred to in Article 12(1)(t) and the annual report on the activities of the Central Unit of Eurodac referred to in Article 12(1)(u), on the basis of the results of monitoring and evaluation; the annual list, for publication, of competent authorities authorised to search directly the data contained in SIS II, including the list of N.SIS II Offices and SIRENE Bureaux, referred to in Article 12(1)(y) and the list of authorities referred to in Article 12(1)(z). The Executive Director shall perform any other tasks in accordance with this Regulation. The Management Board shall appoint the Executive Director for a term of office of 5 years from a list of eligible candidates identified in an open competition organised by the Commission. The selection procedure shall provide for publication in the Official Journal of the European Union and elsewhere of a call for expressions of interest. The Management Board may require a repeated procedure if it is not satisfied with the suitability of any of the candidates retained in the list. The Management Board shall appoint the Executive Director on the basis of personal merit, experience in the field of large-scale IT systems and administrative, financial and management skills as well as knowledge in data protection. The Management Board shall take its decision to appoint the Executive Director by a two-thirds majority of all its members with a right to vote. Before appointment, the candidate selected by the Management Board shall be invited to make a statement before the competent committee(s) of the European Parliament and answer questions from the committee members. After such a statement, the European Parliament shall adopt an opinion setting out its view of the selected candidate. The Management Board shall inform the European Parliament of the manner in which that opinion has been taken into account. The opinion shall be treated as personal and confidential until the appointment of the candidate. In the course of the 9 months preceding the end of the five-year term of office, the Management Board, in close consultation with the Commission, shall undertake an evaluation in which it shall assess, in particular, the results achieved during the Executive Director’s first term of office and how they were achieved. The Management Board, taking into account the evaluation report, and only in those cases where it can be justified by the objectives and tasks of the Agency, may extend the term of office of the Executive Director once for up to 3 years. The Management Board shall inform the European Parliament about its intention to extend the Executive Director’s term of office. Within the month before any such extension, the Executive Director shall be invited to make a statement before the competent committee(s) of the European Parliament and answer questions from the committee members. The Executive Director shall be accountable to the Management Board. The Management Board may dismiss the Executive Director. The Management Board shall take such a decision by a two-thirds majority of all its members with a right to vote. The following Advisory Groups shall provide the Management Board with expertise relating to large-scale IT systems and, in particular, in the context of the preparation of the annual work program and the annual activity report: SIS II Advisory Group; VIS Advisory Group; Eurodac Advisory Group; any other Advisory Group relating to a large-scale IT system when so provided in the relevant legislative instrument governing the development, establishment, operation and use of that large-scale IT system. Each Member State which is bound under Union law by any legislative instrument governing the development, establishment, operation and use of a particular large-scale IT system, as well as the Commission, shall appoint one member to the Advisory Group relating to that large-scale IT system, for a three-year term, which may be renewed. As regards Denmark, it shall also appoint a member to an Advisory Group relating to a large-scale IT system, if it decides under Article 4 of the Protocol on the position of Denmark to implement the legislative instrument governing the development, establishment, operation and use of that particular large-scale IT system in its national law. Each country associated with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis, Eurodac-related measures and the measures related to other large-scale IT systems which participates in a particular large-scale IT system shall appoint a member to the Advisory Group relating to that large-scale IT system. Europol and Eurojust may each appoint a representative to the SIS II Advisory Group. Europol may also appoint a representative to the VIS Advisory Group. Members of the Management Board shall not be members of any of the Advisory Groups. The Executive Director or the Executive Director’s representative shall be entitled to attend all the meetings of the Advisory Groups as observers. The procedures for the operation and cooperation of the Advisory Groups shall be laid down in the Agency’s rules of procedure. When preparing an opinion, the members of each Advisory Group shall do their best to reach a consensus. If such a consensus is not reached, the opinion shall consist of the reasoned position of the majority of members. The minority reasoned position(s) shall also be recorded. Article 16(3) and (4) shall apply accordingly. The members representing the countries associated with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis and Eurodac-related measures shall be allowed to express opinions on issues on which they are not entitled to vote. Each Member State and each country associated with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis and Eurodac-related measures shall facilitate the activities of the Advisory Groups. For the chairmanship of the Advisory Groups, Article 14 shall apply mutatis mutandis.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-14 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.