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his appointment; in the case of suspension the council shall appoint an acting director;

ii) To define the operational specifications of the european meteorological satellite system, as well as the products and services which the system will provide to the Member States, as described in annex i;

Hi) To approve the conclusion of any agreement with Member States, international governmental and nongovernmental organizations, or national organizations of Member States;

iv) To adopt recommendations to the

Member States concerning amendments to this Convention;

v) To adopt its own rules of procedure;

vi) To appoint the auditors and to decide

the length of their appointments;

d) By a majority of the Member States present and voting:

i) To approve appointments and dismis-

sals of senior staff;

ii) To decide on the setting-up of sub-

sidiary bodies and working groups and define their terms of reference; Hi) To decide on any other measures not explicitly provided for in this Convention.

3 — Each Member shall have one vote in the council. However, a Member State shall have no vote in the council if the amount of its arrears of contributions exceeds the assessed amount of its contributions for the current financial year. In such case the Member State concerned may nevertheless be authorized to vote if a two-thirds majority of all the Member States entitled to vote considers that the non-payment is due to circumstances beyond its control. For the purpose of determining unanimity or the majorities provided for in the present Convention, no account shall be taken of a Member State that is not entitled to vote.

The expression «Member States present and voting» shall mean the Member States voting for or against. Member States that abstain shall be considered as not voting.

4 — The presence of representatives of a majority of all the Member States entitled to vote shall be necessary to constitute a quorum. Council decisions in respect of urgent matters may be secured by means of a written procedure in the interval between council meetings.

ARTICLE 6 The director

1 — The director shall be responsible for the implementation of the decisions taken by the council and for the execution of the tasks assigned to EU-METSAT. He sail be the legal representative of EU-METSAT and in that capacity he shall sign agreements approved by the council, as well as contracts.

2 — The director shall act on the instructions of the council. He shall in particular:

a) Ensure the proper functioning of EUMETSAT;

b) Receive the contributions of the Member

States;

c) Enter into the commitments and incur the

expenditure decided on by the council, within the limit of the authorized credits;

d) Draft tender invitations and contracts;

e) Prepare the meetings of the council and pro-

vide the meetings of possible subordinate bodies and working groups with the necessary technical an administrative assistance;

/) Monitor and control the execution of contracts;

g) Prepare and implement the budget of EU-

METSAT in accordance with the financial rules and submit annually for approval by the council the accounts relating to the implementation of the budget and the balance sheet of assets and liabilities, drawn up in each case in accordance with the financial rules, and the report on the activities of EUMETSAT;

h) Maintain the necessary accounts;

i) Execute such other tasks as may be entrusted

to him by the council.

3 — The director shall be supported by a secretariat.

ARTICLE 7 Staff of the secretariat

1 — Except as provided for in the second sentence of this paragraph of this clause the staff of the secretariat shall be governed by the staff rules adopted by the council under the provisions of article 5, 2, b). Where the conditions of employment of a staff member of the secretariat are not governed by the said rules, they shall be governed by the law applicable in the country where the person concerned is carrying out his duties.

2 — Staff shall be recruited on the basis of their qualifications, account being taken of the international character of EUMETSAT. No post may be reserved to nationals of a specific Member State.

3 — Staff of national bodies of the Member States may be employed by and made available to EUMETSAT for a specific period.

4 — The council shall, in conformity with article 5, 2, d), approve appointments and dismissals of senior staff as defined in the staff rules. Other staff members shall be appointed and may be dismissed by the director acting under authority delegated by the council. The director shall have authority over the secretariat staff as a whole.

5 — The Member States shall respect the international character of the responsibilities of the director and members of the secretariat. In the exercise of their duties, the director and members of the secretariat shall neither seek nor accept instructions from any government or any authority external to EUMETSAT.