2. The term of office of Board of Directors members shall lapse if that organ is dissolved or if ARCOM is legally liquidated or merged with another regulatory entity. 3. In the event of individual cessation of office, the replacing member shall always be appointed for a 3-year term of office. 4. Upon completion of their respective terms of office, Board of Directors members shall be disqualified, for a 2-year period, to hold any office in or provide any service to companies of the regulated sectors. 5. During the disqualification period as established in the preceding subsection, the regulatory entity shall continue to pay to a former Board of Directors member two-thirds of the remuneration that corresponds to the position he or she held, and that allowance shall cease from the moment such former member is either hired or appointed to hold any remunerated public or private position or office, with the exception of the functions contemplated in subsection 22.3. Section 24 Dissolution of the Board of Directors The Board of Directors may only be dissolved by instruction of the Prime Minister, on the basis of a proposal by the Minister of Transport, Communications and Public Works, preceded by opinion issued by ARCOM advisory board, in the following cases: (a) Serious irregularities in the functioning of the Board of Directors; (b) Considerable budgetary overspending, without any cogent justification; Section 25 Independence of Board of Directors members Without prejudice to the provision of section 4 and of the preceding sections, Board of Directors members are independent in the exercise of their functions, and are not subject to any specific instructions or directives. Section 26 Competencies of the Board of Directors The competencies of the Board of Directors are: (a) To define ARCOM’s general guidelines and monitor the execution thereof; (b) To approve regulations and make such decisions as contemplated in the present Decree-Law or required for the exercise of its functions; (c) To prepare such opinions as contemplated in the present Statutes; (d) To prepare an annual report on the status of the communications sector and on its regulatory and supervisory activity and publicise it, by the most appropriate means, submitting it to the Minister responsible for communications not later than the date established for the preparation of the accounts report;