Article 7Staff

1.The staff of the Institute, consisting of analysts and administrative staff, shall have the status of contract staff members and shall be recruited from among nationals of the Member States.

The Institute’s analysts shall be recruited on the basis of intellectual merit, experience and expertise relevant to the Institute’s mission and tasks as set out in Article 2, and through fair and transparent competition procedures.

The Institute’s staff rules shall be adopted by the Council acting on a recommendation from the Director.

2.Researchers and trainees may be recruited on an ad hoc and short-term basis.

With the agreement of the Director and after having informed the Board, researchers may be seconded to the Institute for a fixed period, either to posts within the Institute’s organisational structure or for specific tasks and projects relevant to the Institute’s mission and tasks as set out in Article 2.

Staff members may be seconded to a post outside the Institute, for a fixed period in the interests of the service, in accordance with the Institute’s staff rules.

The provisions relating to secondments shall be adopted by the Board on a proposal from the Director.