Art. 13 Confidentialité | Scientific panel of independent experts | AI act

This article sets out the confidentiality obligations that bind all experts on the scientific panel.

It establishes that experts must not disclose confidential information acquired through their panel work, and layers this requirement across multiple legal frameworks — the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and two specific Commission Decisions governing the protection of classified and sensitive non-classified information.

The article connects directly to Article 10, which addresses independence and conflicts of interest, together forming the core conduct standards experts must uphold throughout their membership.

Importantly, non-compliance with these confidentiality obligations carries a direct enforcement consequence: the Commission is empowered to take all appropriate measures, up to and including dismissal from the panel.

Important points:

Experts must not disclose any confidential information acquired through their work on the scientific panel and are required to sign a declaration of confidentiality to this effect.
Confidentiality obligations extend beyond this regulation, requiring experts to comply with the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and relevant Commission Decisions on classified and sensitive non-classified information.
The Commission may dismiss an expert from the scientific panel if these confidentiality obligations are not met.

1. Les experts ne divulguent aucune information de nature confidentielle obtenue dans le cadre de leurs travaux au sein du groupe scientifique ou du fait d’autres activités régies par le présent règlement. À cette fin, ils signent une déclaration de confidentialité.
1. Les experts respectent l’article 339 du traité sur le fonctionnement de l’Union européenne.
1. Les experts se conforment aux règles de confidentialité concernant la protection des informations classifiées de l’Union européenne et des informations sensibles non classifiées, énoncées dans les décisions (UE, Euratom) 2015/443(³) et (UE, Euratom) 2015/444(⁴) de la Commission.
1. Lorsque les obligations visées aux paragraphes 1, 2 et 3 ne sont pas remplies, la Commission peut prendre toutes les mesures appropriées, y compris la révocation de l’expert du groupe scientifique.