Article 3 Responsibilities of Member States
1. Member States shall ensure that:
(a) all suppliers and dealers established in their territory fulfil the obligations laid down in Articles 5 and 6;
(b) with respect to products covered by this Directive, the display of other labels, marks, symbols or inscriptions which do not comply with the requirements of this Directive and of the relevant delegated acts is prohibited, if such display is likely to mislead or confuse end-users with respect to the consumption of energy or, where relevant, other essential resources during use;
(c) the introduction of the system of labels and fiches concerning energy consumption or conservation is accompanied by educational and promotional information campaigns aimed at promoting energy efficiency and more responsible use of energy by end-users;
(d) appropriate measures are taken in order to encourage the relevant national or regional authorities responsible for implementing this Directive to cooperate and provide each other and the Commission with information in order to assist the application of this Directive. The administrative cooperation and exchange of information shall take the utmost advantage of electronic means of communication, shall be cost-effective and may be supported by relevant EU programmes. Such cooperation shall guarantee the security and confidentiality of processing and the protection of sensitive information provided during that procedure, where necessary. The Commission shall take appropriate measures in order to encourage and contribute to the cooperation between Member States referred to in this point.
2. Where a Member State ascertains that a product does not comply with all the relevant requirements set out in this Directive and its delegated acts for the label and the fiche, the supplier shall be obliged to make the product compliant with those requirements under effective and proportionate conditions imposed by the Member State.
Where there is sufficient evidence that a product may be non-compliant, the Member State concerned shall take the necessary preventive measures and measures aimed at ensuring compliance within a precise time-frame, taking into account the damage caused.
Where non-compliance continues, the Member State concerned shall take a decision restricting or prohibiting the placing on the market and/or putting into service of the product in question or ensuring that it is withdrawn from the market. In cases of withdrawal of the product from the market or prohibition on placing the product on the market, the Commission and the other Member States shall be immediately informed.
3. Every four years, the Member States shall submit a report to the Commission including details about their enforcement activities and the level of compliance in their territory.
The Commission may specify the details of the common content of these reports, through the setting of guidelines.
4. The Commission shall regularly provide a synthesis of those reports to the European Parliament and the Council for information.