Commission Decision

of 14 October 2010

re-launching of the CARS 21 High Level Group on the Competitiveness and Sustainable Growth of the Automotive Industry in the European Union

2010/C 280/08

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Whereas:

(1) Article 173 of the Treaty assigned the European Union and the Member States the task of ensuring that the conditions necessary for the competitiveness of the Union’s industry exist. Article 191 of the TFEU provides that the Union policy on the environment shall contribute to promoting measures preserving, protecting and improving the quality of the environment and combating climate change.

(2) As part of the Commission's industrial policy, the CARS 21 process ("Competitive Automotive Regulatory System for the 21st century"), which was originally launched in 2005, made recommendations for the short-, medium and long-term public policy in the regulatory framework for the European Union automotive industry that enhances global competitiveness and employment while sustaining further progress in safety and environmental performance at a price affordable to the consumer.

(3) In its Communication "EUROPE 2020 — a European strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth" [1] the Commission presents proposals to modernise and to decarbonise the transport sector and to promote new technologies including electric cars. The Flagship Initiative "An industrial policy for the globalisation era" aims to establish an industrial policy creating the best environment to maintain and develop a strong, competitive and diversified industrial base in Europe as well as promoting sustainability by supporting the transition of manufacturing sectors to greater energy and resource efficiency. The Flagship Initiative "Resource Efficient Europe" will encourage wide-ranging infrastructure measures such as the deployment of grid infrastructures of electrical mobility, intelligent traffic management and above all promoting new technologies including electric and hybrid cars.

(4) The Communication of the Commission "A European strategy on clean and energy efficient vehicles" [2] defines short- to long-term goals to support research and innovation, to seek solutions of power generation and distribution, to stimulate employment and to encourage market uptake of green vehicles by consumers.

(5) It is therefore necessary to set up a group of experts in the field of competitiveness and sustainable growth of the European Union automotive industry, building on the CARS 21 process, and to define its tasks and structure.

(6) The group should help to identify policies and measures at European Union level, national level and by other stakeholders fostering the competitiveness and sustainable growth of the European Union automotive industry.

(7) The group should be composed of representatives of the European Parliament, the Commission, the Member States and relevant stakeholders of industry and civil society, in particular representatives of consumers, trade unions and non-governmental organisations.

(8) Rules on disclosure of information by members of the group should be provided for, 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 [3].

(9) Personal data 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 [4].

(10) It is appropriate to fix a period for the application of this Decision. The Commission will in due time consider the advisability of an extension,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Group

A High Level Group on the Competitiveness and Sustainable Growth of the Automotive Industry in the European Union, hereinafter referred to as "the group", previously existing on an informal basis under the title "Competitive Automotive Regulatory System for the 21st century", is hereby relaunched.

Article 2

Tasks

The group’s tasks shall be:

1. to assist the Commission in questions related to the competitiveness and sustainable growth of the automotive industry;

2. to conduct economic and statistical analysis of the factors driving the structural changes in the automotive industry as well as other factors that influence the competitive position of the European Union automotive industry;

3. to assist the Commission in implementing the policy set out by the EUROPE 2020 strategy, its flagship initiative on a resource efficient Europe, its flagship initiative on an industrial policy for the globalisation era and the Communication on clean and energy efficient vehicles COM(2010) 186 as to achieve the goal of maintaining a competitive and sustainable European Union automotive industry;

4. to contribute to ensuring a smooth and balanced economic and social transition, through a pro-active anticipation and management of restructuring processes, skills needs and the related qualification needs, taking into account the results of the "European Partnership for the Anticipation of Change in the Automotive sector";

5. to formulate a set of sector-specific policy recommendations addressed to policy makers at the European Union and national level, as well as to the industry and civil society organisations;

6. to develop principles of good conduct in order to promote transparency in commercial and contractual relations between the parties to vertical agreements in the motor vehicle sector;

7. to advise on specific aspects of the implementation of the Commission's 2020 Strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

Article 3

Membership — Appointment

1. The group shall be composed of up to 40 members.

2. The members shall be individuals appointed in a personal capacity. Each member shall nominate a personal representative to a permanent preparatory sub-group hereafter referred to as "the preparatory sub-group".

3. The members shall be appointed by the Commission from high level stakeholders with competence and responsibility in areas which are related to the competitiveness and sustainable growth of the EU automotive industry. The composition shall reflect a balanced representation of different stakeholders. They shall include representatives of the European Parliament, the Commission, the Member States, the actors in the industrial value chain, trade unions and of civil society (non-governmental organisations and consumers).

4. Members are appointed for two years. They shall remain in office until they are replaced or their term of office ends. Their term of office may be renewed.

5. Members who are no longer capable of contributing effectively to the group’s deliberations, who resign or who do not comply with the conditions set out in Article 339 of the Treaty may be replaced for the remainder of their term of office.

6. The names of individuals appointed in a personal capacity shall be published in the Register of Commission expert groups and other similar entities, hereinafter referred to as "Register".

7. Personal data shall be collected, processed and published in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001.

Article 4

Operation

1. The group shall be chaired by a representative of the Commission.

2. The preparatory sub-group shall prepare the discussions, position papers and advice for actions and policy measures to be recommended by the group. To that end, it shall work in close contact with the competent Commission services.

3. The group may, in agreement with the services of the Commission, set up working groups, in addition to the preparatory sub-group, to examine specific questions related to the tasks of the group and on the basis of terms of reference defined by the group. Such working groups shall be disbanded as soon as their mandate is fulfilled.

4. The Commission's representative may invite on an ad hoc basis experts or observers from outside the group with specific competence in a subject on the agenda to participate in the work of the group sub-group or working groups. In addition, the Commission’s representative may give observer status to individuals, organisations as defined in rule 8(3) of the horizontal rules on expert groups, EU agencies and accession countries.

5. Members of expert groups and their representatives, as well as invited experts and observers, shall comply with the obligations of professional secrecy laid down by the Treaties and their implementing rules, as well as with the Commission's rules on security regarding the protection of EU classified information, laid down in the Annex to Commission Decision 2001/844/EC, ECSC, Euratom. Should they fail to respect these obligations, the Commission may take all appropriate measures.

6. Information obtained by participating in deliberations or work of the group or ad hoc groups or sub-groups shall not be divulged if, in the opinion of the Commission, that information relates to confidential matters.

7. The meetings of the group, preparatory sub-group and working groups shall be held on the Commission premises. The Commission shall provide secretarial services. Other Commission officials with an interest in the proceedings may attend meetings of the group, the preparatory sub-group and working groups.

8. The group shall adopt its rules of procedure on the basis of the standard rules of procedure adopted by the Commission [5].

9. The Commission publishes relevant information on the activities carried out by the group either by including it in the Register or via a link from the Register to dedicated website. The final report shall be published as soon as possible after the final meeting of the group.

Article 5

Meeting expenses

1. Participants in the activities of the group shall not be remunerated for the services they render.

2. Travel and subsistence expenses incurred by participants in the activities of the group shall be reimbursed by the Commission in accordance with the provisions in force within the Commission.

3. Those expenses shall be reimbursed within the limits of the available appropriations allocated under the annual procedure for the allocation of resources.

Article 6

Applicability

This Decision shall apply until 14 October 2012.

Done at Brussels, 14 October 2010.

For the Commission

Antonio Tajani

Vice-President

[1] COM(2010) 2020.

[2] COM(2010) 186.

[3] OJ L 317, 3.12.2001, p. 1.

[4] OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.

[5] OJ L 55/61, 5.3.2010, p. 61.

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