Article 70 — Appointment of the Executive Director

1.The Executive Director shall be engaged as a temporary agent of the Authority under Article 2, point (a), of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants.

2.The Executive Director shall perform his or her duties in the interest of the Union, and independently of any specific interests.

3.The Executive Director shall manage the Authority. The Executive Director shall be accountable to the Executive Board. Without prejudice to the powers of the Commission and of the Executive Board, the Executive Director shall be independent in the performance of his or her duties and shall neither seek nor take instructions from any Union institutions, bodies, offices or agencies, nor from any government or from any other public and private body.

4.The Executive Director shall be selected on the grounds of merit and documented high-level administrative, budgetary and management skills, following an open selection procedure which shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and, as appropriate, other press or internet sites. The Commission shall draw up a shortlist of at least two qualified candidates for the position of Executive Director. The Executive Board shall appoint the Executive Director.

5.The term of office of the Executive Director shall be five years. In the course of the nine months preceding the end of the Executive Director’s term of office, the Executive Board shall undertake an assessment that takes into account an evaluation of the Executive Director’s performance and the Authority’s future tasks and challenges. The Executive Board, taking into account the evaluation, may extend the term of office of the Executive Director once.

6.An Executive Director whose term of office has been extended shall not participate in another selection procedure for the same post at the end of the extended term of office.