
Article 1 
This Decision sets the necessary rules for the establishment, the management and the functioning of the Network of national responsible authorities on eHealth, as provided for by Article 14(1) of Directive 2011/24/EU.
Article 2 

1. The eHealth Network shall pursue the objectives assigned to it by Article 14(2) of Directive 2011/24/EU.
2. In pursuing those objectives the eHealth Network shall work in close cooperation with the Joint Action and the Thematic Network and shall build on the results achieved in the framework of those two activities.
Article 3 

1. Members shall be Member States’ authorities responsible for eHealth designated by those Member States participating in the eHealth Network.
2. Member States wishing to participate in the eHealth Network shall notify in writing to the Commission this intention as well as the national authority responsible for eHealth they have designated in accordance with Article 14(1) of Directive 2011/24/EU.
3. Each national authority responsible for eHealth shall nominate one representative in the eHealth Network, as well as one alternate, and shall communicate this information to the Commission.
4. The names of Member States’ authorities may be published in the Register of Commission expert groups and other similar entities (‘the Register’).
5. Personal data of representatives of Member States, experts and observers participating in the Network shall be collected, processed and published in accordance with Directives 95/46/EC and 2002/58/EC.
Article 4 

1. The Commission may consult the eHealth Network on any matter relating to eHealth in the Union, in particular when this is needed in order to provide guidance to the Joint Action and the Thematic Network.
2. Any Member of the eHealth Network may advise the Commission to consult the eHealth Network on a specific question.
Article 5 
The eHealth Network shall adopt by a simple majority of its Members its own rules of procedure on the proposal by the Commission services, following consultation with the Member States participating in the Network.
Article 6 

1. The eHealth Network may set up sub-groups to examine specific questions on the basis of terms of reference defined by it. Such sub-groups shall be disbanded as soon as their mandate is fulfilled.
2. The eHealth Network shall adopt a multiannual work programme and an evaluation instrument on the implementation of such programme.
3. Members of the eHealth Network and their representatives, as well as invited experts and observers, shall comply with the obligations of professional secrecy laid down by Article 339 of the Treaty and its implementing rules, as well as with the Commission’s rules on security regarding the protection of EU classified information, laid down in the Annex to Commission Decision 2001/844/EC, ECSC, Euratom of 29 November 2001 amending its internal Rules of Procedure. Should they fail to respect these obligations, the Chair of the eHealth Network may take all appropriate measures.
Article 7 

1. The Commission shall provide secretarial services for the eHealth Network.
2. Other Commission officials with an interest in the proceedings may attend meetings of the eHealth Network and its sub-groups.
3. The Commission shall publish relevant information on the activities carried out by the eHealth Network either by including it in the Register or via a link from the Register to a dedicated website.
Article 8 

1. Participants in the activities of the eHealth Network shall not be remunerated by the Commission for their services.
2. Travel and subsistence expenses incurred by participants in the activities of the eHealth Network shall be reimbursed by the Commission in accordance with the provisions in force within the Commission.Those expenses shall be reimbursed within the limits of the available appropriations allocated under the annual procedure for the allocation of resources.
Article 9 
This Decision shall enter into force on the day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Done in Brussels, 22 December 2011.
For the Commission
The President
José Manuel BARROSO