SECTION 3Chairperson
Article 48Appointment and tasks
1.The Authority shall be represented by a Chairperson, who shall be a full-time independent professional.
The Chairperson shall be responsible for preparing the work of the Board of Supervisors and shall chair the meetings of the Board of Supervisors and the Management Board.
2.The Chairperson shall be appointed by the Board of Supervisors on the basis of merit, skills, knowledge of financial institutions and markets, and of experience relevant to financial supervision and regulation, following an open selection procedure.
Before taking up his duties, and up to 1 month after the selection by the Board of Supervisors, the European Parliament may, after having heard the candidate selected by the Board of Supervisors, object to the designation of the selected person.
The Board of Supervisors shall also elect, from among its members, an alternate who shall carry out the functions of the Chairperson in his absence. That alternate shall not be elected from among the members of the Management Board.
3.The Chairperson’s term of office shall be 5 years and may be extended once.
4.In the course of the 9 months preceding the end of the 5-year term of office of the Chairperson, the Board of Supervisors shall evaluate:
(a)the results achieved in the first term of office and the way they were achieved;
(b)the Authority’s duties and requirements in the coming years.
The Board of Supervisors, taking into account the evaluation, may extend the term of office of the Chairperson once subject to confirmation by the European Parliament.
5.The Chairperson may be removed from office only by the European Parliament following a decision of the Board of Supervisors.
The Chairperson shall not prevent the Board of Supervisors from discussing matters relating to the Chairperson, in particular the need for his removal, and shall not be involved in deliberations concerning such a matter.
Article 49Independence
Without prejudice to the role of the Board of Supervisors in relation to the tasks of the Chairperson, the Chairperson shall neither seek nor take instructions from the Union institutions or bodies, from any government of a Member State or from any other public or private body.
Neither Member States, the Union institutions or bodies, nor any other public or private body shall seek to influence the Chairperson in the performance of his tasks.
In accordance with the Staff Regulations referred to in Article 68, the Chairperson shall, after leaving service, continue to be bound by the duty to behave with integrity and discretion as regards the acceptance of certain appointments or benefits.
Article 50Report
1.The European Parliament and the Council may invite the Chairperson or his alternate to make a statement, while fully respecting his independence. The Chairperson shall make a statement before the European Parliament and answer any questions put by its members, whenever so requested.
2.The Chairperson shall report in writing on the main activities of the Authority to the European Parliament when requested and at least 15 days before making the statement referred to in paragraph 1.
3.In addition to the information referred to in Articles 11 to 18 and Articles 20 and 33, the report shall also include any relevant information requested by the European Parliament on an ad-hoc basis.