L 183/40 Official Journal of the European Union 22.7.2003 COMMISSION DECISION of 6 November 2002 establishing the Office for infrastructure and logistics in Luxembourg (2003/524[EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to Article 20 of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission (), Whereas: 1 (6) 1 2 0O 0O Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (), herein- after ‘the Financial Regulation’, provides a framework for the establishment of a new type of administrative office. The Commission's 13 December 1999 guidelines for a policy of externalisation (®) and the White Paper on administrative reform (%) have outlined a new externalisa- tion policy based on the vision of an administration refocused on its core tasks and activities. The results of the analysis undertaken by the Planning and Coordination Group on Externalisation, after taking stock of the situation in the Commission and at inter- institutional level across a number of areas, highlight the main advantages that the creation of Commission offices could bring and the areas where special attention is needed, such as, for example, the need to ensure that operations at the various sites are consistent and to define the minimum critical size of each office. The type of office selected consists of administrative entities aimed at providing support for the activities of other Commission departments andfor potentially of other Community institutions. The analysis carried out more specifically in the area of infrastructure and logistics sets out the advantages of entrusting to a single structure the execution of decisions involving administrative support. That structure is parti- cularly suitable for making efficient and economic use of resources while improving the visibility of the services provided, refocusing effective operational responsibilities and keeping pace with the needs and demands of users. This type of office represents an appropriate tool for achieving a desirable shift to inter-institutional level in () OJ L 308, 8.12.2000, p. 26. () OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. () SEC(1999) 2051, p. 7. V] % COM(2000) 200 final. (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) this area, for which some other Community institutions have already expressed an interest. The specific local factors relating to the management of some aspects of infrastructure and logistics in Luxem- bourg are important. Consequently, it is necessary to set up in Luxembourg an administrative Office for infra- structure and logistics that is separate from the Office set up in Brussels. As an administrative office for the Commission, it is essential that the Office remain clearly attached to a Directorate-General in accordance with the guidelines adopted by the Commission on 28 May 2002 (). Accordingly, it is to be attached to the Directorate- General for Personnel and Administration. The tasks and operation of the Office need to be defined. In accordance with the Commission guidelines, a management committee should be established whose main role, under the authority of the College of the Commission, would be to supervise the activities of the Office, define its terms of reference and ensure that they are properly implemented. It is therefore necessary to determine the exact composition of the Management Committee, in accordance with the guidelines, as well as its tasks and internal organisation. It is necessary to lay down rules for the appointment of staff to the Office and to ensure that the rules and proce- dures which apply to the Office are the same as those that apply to the Commission. The Commission should define, with respect to the Office, the powers conferred by the Staff Regulations on the appointing authority and by the Conditions of employment of other servants on the authority authorised to conclude contracts. Principles to govern the responsibilities of the Director of the Office, both in relation to the staff of the Office and as regards its activities, should be laid down. The Director of the Office should be required to present to the Management Committee his objectives, as well as the resulting regular reports and the annual management report. () SEC(2002) 618 final.