1. The Commission and the Steering Board established pursuant to Article 21 shall be advised by an advisory board (the ‘Advisory Board’).
2. The Advisory Board shall strive to ensure gender balance and shall comprise:
(a)
one representative of each implementing partner;
(b)
one representative of each Member State;
(c)
one expert appointed by the European Economic and Social Committee;
(d)
one expert appointed by the Committee of the Regions.
3. The Advisory Board shall be chaired by a representative of the Commission. The representative of the EIB Group shall be the vice-chair.
The Advisory Board shall meet regularly, at least twice a year, at the request of the Chairperson.
4. The Advisory Board shall:
(a)
provide advice to the Commission and the Steering Board on the design of financial products to be deployed under this Regulation;
(b)
provide advice to the Commission and the Steering Board about market developments, market conditions, market failures and suboptimal investment situations;
(c)
exchange views on market developments and share best practices.
5. The Commission shall nominate the first Advisory Board members representing the implementing partners other than the EIB Group after consultation of potential implementing partners. Their term is limited to one year.
6. Meetings of representatives of the Member States in a separate format shall also be organised at least twice a year and chaired by the Commission.
7. The Advisory Board and the meetings of the representatives of the Member States referred to in paragraph 6 may issue recommendations to the Steering Board for its consideration regarding the implementation and operation of the InvestEU Programme.
8. Detailed minutes of the meetings of the Advisory Board shall be made public as soon as possible after they have been approved by the Advisory Board.
The Commission shall establish the operating rules and procedures for the Advisory Board and shall manage the secretariat of the Advisory Board. All relevant documentation and information shall be made available to the Advisory Board to enable it to exercise its tasks.
9. The national promotional banks and institutions represented on the Advisory Board shall select from among themselves the representatives of the implementing partners other than the EIB Group in the Steering Board established pursuant to Article 21. The national promotional banks and institutions shall aim to achieve a balanced representation in the Steering Board in terms of size and geographical location. The representatives selected shall represent the agreed common position of all implementing partners other than the EIB Group.