1.Eurostat is the statistical authority of the Union and a Directorate-General of the Commission. It shall be headed by a Director-General.
2.The Commission shall ensure that the procedure for the recruitment of the Director-General of Eurostat is transparent and based on professional criteria. The procedure shall ensure that the principle of equal opportunities is respected, in particular with regard to gender.
3.The Director-General shall have sole responsibility for deciding on processes, statistical methods, standards and procedures, and on the content and timing of statistical releases and publications for all statistics produced by Eurostat. When carrying out those statistical tasks, the Director-General shall act in an independent manner and shall neither seek nor take instructions from the Union institutions or bodies, from any government or other institution, body, office or agency.
4.The Director-General of Eurostat shall be responsible for the statistical activities of Eurostat. The Director-General of Eurostat shall appear immediately after appointment by the Commission, and annually thereafter, in the framework of the statistical dialogue before the relevant committee of the European Parliament to discuss matters pertaining to statistical governance, methodology and statistical innovation. The Director-General of Eurostat shall publish an annual report.