1. The Executive Director of the Agency shall be appointed by the Management Board on the basis of a list of candidates proposed by the Commission following a call for expressions of interest published in the Official Journal of the European Union and in other periodicals or on Internet sites. The Executive Director shall be appointed on the grounds of merit and documented administrative and management skills, as well as his relevant experience in the fields of chemical safety or regulation. The Management Board shall take its decision by a two-thirds majority of all members with a right to vote. Power to dismiss the Executive Director shall lie with the Management Board, in accordance with the same procedure. Before being appointed, the candidate selected by the Management Board shall be invited as soon as possible to make a statement before the European Parliament and to answer questions from Members of Parliament.

2. The term of the office of the Executive Director shall be five 5 years. It may be prolonged by the Management Board once for another period of up to five years.