Article 4  |  Chairing

1. The European Chief Prosecutor shall chair the meetings of the College.

2. Where appropriate, the European Chief Prosecutor shall designate one of the Deputy European Chief Prosecutors to chair a College meeting in his/her absence.

3. In the absence of the European Chief Prosecutor and the two Deputies, the most senior in age European Prosecutor shall chair the College meeting.

Article 7  |  Meetings

1. In accordance with Article 9(2) of the Regulation, the College shall hold ordinary meetings at least once every month, unless the College decides otherwise. The European Chief Prosecutor may call an extraordinary meeting at any time.

2. At the request of at least seven College members, the European Chief Prosecutor shall call an extraordinary meeting no later than 10 days after their request.

3. The European Chief Prosecutor shall call the meetings of the College and determine the day and time of the meetings.

4. The meetings of the College shall take place at the premises of the EPPO. Whenever the circumstances so require, the European Chief Prosecutor may convene meetings of the College by videoconference. If the physical presence of one or more members of the College to meetings convened at the premises of the EPPO is not possible, the chair may authorise their attendance to take place remotely.

5. The European Chief Prosecutor shall prepare the provisional agenda for each meeting. Any member of the College and the Administrative Director may suggest to the European Chief Prosecutor points to be included in the provisional agenda. The agenda shall include the points requested by at least 7 members of the College and the issues proposed by a Permanent Chamber, in accordance with Article 21. The provisional agenda shall be sent by the Secretary of the College, together with any supporting documents, to all College members at least one week before the meeting. Relevant supporting documents shall also be provided to non-members of the College invited to attend for specific points. When an extraordinary meeting is called, the provisional agenda and supporting documents may be sent at a shorter notice.

6. At the beginning of each meeting, the College shall approve the agenda. Urgent matters, not appearing on the provisional agenda, may be proposed for discussion and voting by the chair of the meeting or any member of the College and included in the agenda provided that the College does not object.

7. As regards attendance by non-members of the College:

a) the Administrative Director shall attend meetings of the College when budgetary, staff and other administrative matters are discussed and may be invited by the European Chief Prosecutor to attend meetings of the College in which strategic and policy matters are discussed.

b) other staff members and any other person whose opinion may be of interest, may attend meetings upon invitation made by the European Chief Prosecutor or at the initiative of any member of the College.

Article 8  |  Quorum and voting

1. For the purpose of Article 9(5) of the Regulation, the quorum for the College to take decisions is two-thirds of the College members. In the absence of a quorum, the Chair may decide to continue the meeting without taking any formal decision. The relevant agenda items may be considered at the next College meeting or by written or silent procedure.

2. Exceptionally, if remote participation is not possible, a European Prosecutor who cannot attend a College meeting may give a proxy vote to another European Prosecutor to vote on his/her behalf. Proxy votes cannot be taken into account for establishing the quorum in accordance with paragraph 1.

3. A European Prosecutor using a vote by proxy shall communicate to the Secretary of the College in writing the identity of the proxy holder, the items of the agenda for which the proxy is valid and any possible restrictions placed on the proxy vote. The proxy vote is only valid for the item(s) of the agenda for which it has been given.

4. The chair shall call for a vote on a point of the agenda if he/she deems that the matter has been sufficiently considered.

5. The votes shall be taken by a show of hands, electronically or by a recorded vote, if the voting by a show of hands is challenged. The decisions adopted by the College shall not record the breakdown of votes.

6. Decisions to be taken by simple majority in accordance with the Regulation, will be considered adopted when the highest number of votes cast for any issue or item exceeds the second-highest number.

Article 12  |  In camera and confidentiality

Without prejudice to Article 7(4), the meetings of the College shall be held in camera and the discussions shall be confidential.

Article 13  |  College Secretariat

1. The College shall be assisted by a College Secretariat in the preparation of the College meetings, working in consultation with the European Chief Prosecutor.

2. The College Secretariat shall, among other responsibilities, attend the meetings of the College, record and maintain minutes of the College meetings, compile summaries of meeting outcomes, and maintain comprehensive records of College activities.

3. The Head of the College Secretariat, serving as Secretary to the College, shall be appointed by the College.

Article 14  |  Minutes of the meetings

1. Within two working days after each meeting and after approval by the chair, the Secretary of the College shall distribute the list of decisions adopted by the College.

2. Without prejudice to paragraph 1, the Secretary of the College shall prepare the minutes of each meeting of the College.

3. The minutes of the meetings of the College shall contain, at least, the names of persons attending, a summary of the debates and the decisions adopted, without recording the breakdown of votes.

4. The draft minutes shall be sent by the European Chief Prosecutor to the College members for approval at a subsequent College meeting. Once adopted, the minutes shall be signed by the European Chief Prosecutor and the Secretary of the College and attached to a record.

Article 14bis  |  Working groups

1. The College and the European Chief Prosecutor may set up working groups and advisory boards to provide the College, or, respectively, the European Chief Prosecutor, with advice and expertise.

2. The mandate, composition and practical functioning of the formations referred to in paragraph 1 shall be determined in the respective decision of the College or of the European Chief Prosecutor, establishing each working group or advisory group.