L 289/42 Official Journal of the European Communities 16.11.2000 COMMISSION DECISION of 6 November 2000 on the minimum criteria to be taken into account by Member States when designating bodies in accordance with Article 3(4) of Directive 1999/93/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on a Community framework for electronic signatures (notified under document number C(2000) 3179) (Text with EEA relevance) (2000/709/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Directive 1999/93/EC of the European Parlia- ment and of the Council of 13 December 1999 on a Community framework for electronic signatures ('), and in particular Article 3(4) thereof, Whereas: (1)  On 13 December 1999, the European Parliament and the Council adopted the Directive 1999/93/EC on a Community framework for electronic signatures. (2)  Annex III to Directive 1999/93/EC contains the require- ments for secure signature-creation-devices. According to Article 3(4) of the Directive, the conformity of secure signature-creation-devices with the requirements laid down in Annex III shall be determined by appropriate public or private bodies designated by Member States and the Commission shall establish criteria for Member States to determine whether a body should be designated for performing such conformity assessments. (3)  The establishment of the above criteria by the Commis- sion has to be made after consultation of the ‘Electronic Signature Committee’ set up under Article 9(1) of Directive 1999/93/EC. (4)  The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the ‘Electronic Signature Committee’, HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: Article 1 The purpose of this Decision is to establish the criteria for Member States to determine whether a national body should be designated as responsible for the conformity assessments of secure signature-creation-devices. Atticle 2 Where a designated body is part of an organisation involved in activities other than conformance assessment of secure signa- ture-creation-devices with the requirements laid down in () O] L 13, 19.1.2000, p. 12. Annex III to Directive 1999/93/EC it must be identifiable within that organisation. Different activities must be clearly distinguished. Article 3 The body and its staff must not engage in any activities that may conflict with their independence of judgement and integ- rity in relation to their task. In particular, the body must be independent of the parties involved. Therefore, the body, its executive officer and the staff responsible for carrying out the conformance assessment tasks must not be a designer, manu- facturer, supplier or installer of secure signature-creation- devices, or a certification service provider issuing certificates to the public, nor the authorised representative of any of such parties. In addition, they must be financially independent and not become directly involved in the design, construction, marketing or maintenance of secure signature-creation-devices, nor repre- sent the parties engaged in these activities. This does not preclude the possibility of exchange of technical information between the manufacturer and the designated body. Atrticle 4 The body and its personnel must be able to determine the conformity of secure signature-creation-devices with the requirements laid down in Annex III to Directive 1999/93/EC with a high degree of professional integrity, reliability and sufficient technical competence. Atticle 5 The body shall be transparent in its conformity assessment practices and shall record all relevant information concerning these practices. All interested parties must have access to the services of the body. The procedures under which the body operates must be administered in a non-discriminatory manner. Atticle 6 The body must have at its disposal the necessary staff and facilities to enable it to perform properly and swiftly the tech- nical and administrative work associated with the task for which it has been designated.