3384 GOVERNMENT GAZETTE seconded from Central Administration bodies, as defined in indent (f) of Article 14(1) of Law 4270/2014 (Government Gazette A’ 143), by derogation from the applicable provisions. The duration of secondments shall be one (1) year renewable once. The secondment shall be carried out following a joint decision of the competent Minister and the President of the Authority without the opinion of the respective Boards of Employees. Prior agreement of the competent appointing bodies shall be specifically sought for the secondment of first and second-level local government authority staff. 7. Secretariat staff may be seconded to supervisory authorities of the Member States, or to the Greek Permanent Representation, or to authorities of third countries or international organisations for a period of up to six (6) months following a decision of the Authority applying the provisions applicable to staff seconded to EU institutions. In addition, staff from the Authority‘s counterparts may also be seconded to the Authority for a period of up to six (6) months. 8. The university graduate Communications Department positions at the Data Protection Authority shall be converted into equivalent scientific staff positions recruited under a private law employment contract of indefinite duration. Already serving staff who holds the qualifications required under Presidential Decree No 50/2001 (Government Gazette A’ 39) "Determining the qualifications for appointment in public service positions" and the legislation in force for the position of scientific staff under a private law employment contract, shall state whether they agree to be assigned to that position or not within one month of the entry into force of this Law. Staff willing to serve under a private law contract, who occupy one of the positions converted, shall maintain their insurance status and count the duration of previous relevant employment towards their grading and salary classification in accordance with the provisions of Article 11(4) of Law 4354/2015 (Government Gazette A’ 176). In case of refusal or failure to submit a statement, the members of staff shall continue to serve as permanent university graduate Communications Officers in personal non-transferable positions. In the period during which the members of staff serve in personal non-transferable positions pursuant to the previous subparagraph, no equivalent positions of scientific staff shall be filled under a private law employment contract of indefinite duration. Article 19 Budget and Financial management 1. The Authority shall establish its own budget under the responsibility of its President and shall enjoy full independence in implementing it. The involvement of another body shall not be required in this regard. The President of the Authority shall be the authorising officer. 2. The budget shall be established annually and submitted directly to the State General Accounting Office in accordance with the procedure set out in the Public Accounting. 3. The Authority, in enjoying full independence, shall be solely responsible for implementing its budget. The transfer of appropriations from one account to another and A’ 137/29.08.2019 between different major budget categories shall be allowed, depending on the needs of the Authority, by a decision of the Minister of Finance, provided that the total amount of the budget initially approved by the Parliament is not modified. Expenditure incurred by the Authority shall be carried out by the authorising officers and the public accounting in accordance with the relevant applicable provisions of the commitment. The transfer of appropriations shall be carried out following a decision of the Authority and shall be notified to the State General Accounting Office. 4. The budget of the Authority may be amended following a decision of the Minister for Finance, upon recommendation of the Authority, which is submitted to the State General Accounting Office. 5. The Authority may participate in national, European or co-financed research or other programmes. To this end, the Authority may, following a decision of its President, open a regular bank account under the Group of Accounts 260 — Cash Management with the Bank of Greece, to which appropriations will be transferred from those programmes, as well as from other resources related to the exercise of its powers provided for under the GDPR or the law. The management and control of the above special account shall be regulated by the special provision of Article 2(3) of Law 3051/2002. The Authority shall enjoy full independence in the management of this account. The revenue of the Authority shall constitute state budget revenue. 6. Where members and staff of the Authority participate in collective bodies established in the context of projects financed by the European Structural and Investment Funds or the Public Investment Programme, the provisions of Article 21(2), (3) and (5) of Law 4354/2015 (Government Gazette A’ 176) shall apply accordingly, provided that the relevant expenditure is borne by these sources of funding and does not place a burden on the state budget. 7. The financial audit of the Authority shall be conducted in a way that does not interfere with its operation nor does it affect its independence. Article 20 Legal protection against the Authority 1. Regulatory decisions and individual administrative acts issued by the Authority, including decisions imposing penalties, shall be challenged by way of action for annulment before the Council of State. 2. The period of time for lodging an action for annulment shall not have suspensive effect on the contested act. The court may, at the request of the applicant, suspend the execution of the act in whole or in part, in accordance with the provisions in force. 3. An action for annulment against the decisions and acts of the Authority may also be brought by the competent Minister. 4. The Authority shall be represented in and out of court by its President. The Authority shall be an autonomous party to any kind of court proceedings with the participation of its members in their capacity as lawyers or its legal service, provided the legal service is set up. The Authority’s legal service shall be staffed by lawyers with a salaried mandate recruited in accordance with the provisions of the