Article 8U.K.

1.Member States shall inform the Commission of any general difficulty encountered, de jure or de facto, by entities in access to or exercise of the activities of prospecting, exploring for and producing hydrocarbons in third countries, which have been brought to their attention. Member States and the Commission shall ensure that commercial confidentiality is respected.

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3.Whenever the Commission establishes, either on the basis of the reports referred to in paragraph 2 or on the basis of other information, that a third country is not granting Community entities, as regards access to or exercise of the activities referred to in paragraph 1, treatment comparable to that which the Community grants entities from that third country, the Commission may submit proposals to the Community for the appropriate mandate for negotiation with a view to obtaining comparable competitive opportunities for Community entities. The Council shall decide by qualified majority.

4.In the circumstances described in paragraph 3, the Commission may at any time propose that the Council authorize one or more Member States to refuse an authorization to an entity which is effectively controlled by the third country concerned and/or by nationals of that third country.

The Commission may make such a proposal on its own initiative or at the request of a Member State.

The Council shall act by qualified majority as soon as possible.

5.Measures taken pursuant to this Article shall be without prejudice to the Community's obligations under any international agreement governing access to an exercise of the activities of prospecting, exploring for and producing hydrocarbons.

Textual Amendments