1. 1. The Advisory Scientific Committee shall be composed of the Chair of the Advisory Technical Committee and 15 experts representing a wide range of skillsskills, experience and experiencesknowledge pertaining to all relevant financial markets sectors, proposed by the Steering Committee and approved by the General Board for a four-year, renewable mandate. The nominees shall not be members of the ESAs and shall be chosen on the basis of their general competence and their diverse experience in academic fields or other sectors, in particular in small and medium-sized enterprises or trade-unions,trade unions, or as providers or consumers of financial services.
2. 2. The Chair and the two Vice-Chairs of the Advisory Scientific Committee shall be appointed by the General Board following a proposal from the Chair of the ESRB and they shall each have a high level of relevant expertise and knowledge, for example by virtue of their relevant academic and professional background in the sectors of banking, securities markets, or insurance and occupational pensions. The chairmanshiprole of the Chair of the Advisory Scientific Committee shouldshall rotate between those three persons.
3. 3. The Advisory Scientific Committee shall provide advice and assistance to the ESRB in accordance with Article 4(5), at the request of the Chair of the ESRB.ESRB or the General Board.
4. 4. The ESRB Secretariat shall support the work of the Advisory Scientific Committee and the head of the Secretariat shall participate in its meetings.
5. 5. Where appropriate, the Advisory Scientific Committee shall organise consultations at an early stage with stakeholdersstakeholders, such as market participants, consumer bodies and academic experts, at an early stage and in an open and transparent manner, while taking into account the requirement of confidentiality. Such consultations shall be conducted as widely as possible to ensure an inclusive approach towards all interested parties and relevant financial sectors and shall allow reasonable time for stakeholders to respond.
6. 6. The Advisory Scientific Committee shall be provided with all necessary means in order to successfully complete its tasks.