Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

Article 25 U.K. Obligation to cooperate

1. Competent authorities shall cooperate with each other and with ESMA where necessary for the purposes of this Regulation, unless one of the exceptions in paragraph 2 applies. Competent authorities shall render assistance to competent authorities of other Member States and ESMA. In particular, they shall exchange information without undue delay and cooperate in investigation, supervision and enforcement activities.

The obligation to cooperate and assist laid down in the first subparagraph shall also apply as regards the Commission in relation to the exchange of information relating to commodities which are agricultural products listed in Annex I to the TFEU.

The competent authorities and ESMA shall cooperate in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010, in particular Article 35 thereof.

Where Member States have chosen, in accordance with Article 30(1), second subparagraph, to lay down criminal sanctions for infringements of the provisions of this Regulation referred to in that Article, they shall ensure that appropriate measures are in place so that competent authorities have all the necessary powers to liaise with judicial authorities within their jurisdiction to receive specific information related to criminal investigations or proceedings commenced for possible infringements of this Regulation and provide the same to other competent authorities and ESMA to fulfil their obligation to cooperate with each other and ESMA for the purposes of this Regulation.

2. A competent authority may refuse to act on a request for information or a request to cooperate with an investigation only in the following exceptional circumstances, namely where:

(a) communication of relevant information could adversely affect the security of the Member State addressed, in particular the fight against terrorism and other serious crimes;

(b) complying with the request is likely adversely to affect its own investigation, enforcement activities or, where applicable, a criminal investigation;

(c) judicial proceedings have already been initiated in respect of the same actions and against the same persons before the authorities of the Member State addressed; or

(d) a final judgment has already been delivered in relation to such persons for the same actions in the Member State addressed.

3. Competent authorities and ESMA shall cooperate with the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER), established under Regulation (EC) No 713/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council(1), and the national regulatory authorities of the Member States to ensure that a coordinated approach is taken to the enforcement of the relevant rules where transactions, orders to trade or other actions or behaviours relate to one or more financial instruments to which this Regulation applies and also to one or more wholesale energy products to which Article 3, 4 and 5 of Regulation (EU) No 1227/2011 apply. Competent authorities shall consider the specific characteristics of the definitions of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No 1227/2011 and the provisions of Article 3, 4 and 5 of Regulation (EU) No 1227/2011 when they apply Articles 7, 8 and 12 of this Regulation to financial instruments related to wholesale energy products.

4. Competent authorities shall, on request, immediately supply any information required for the purpose referred to in paragraph 1.

5. Where a competent authority is convinced that acts contrary to the provisions of this Regulation are being, or have been, carried out on the territory of another Member State or that acts are affecting financial instruments traded on a trading venue situated in another Member State, it shall give notice of that fact in as specific a manner as possible to the competent authority of the other Member State and to ESMA and, in relation to wholesale energy products, to ACER. The competent authorities of the various Member States involved shall consult each other and ESMA and, in relation to wholesale energy products, ACER, on the appropriate action to take and inform each other of significant interim developments. They shall coordinate their action, in order to avoid possible duplication and overlap when applying administrative sanctions and other administrative measures to those cross-border cases in accordance with Articles 30 and 31, and shall assist each other in the enforcement of their decisions.

6. The competent authority of one Member State may request assistance from the competent authority of another Member State with regard to on-site inspections or investigations.

A requesting competent authority may inform ESMA of any request referred to in the first subparagraph. In the case of an investigation or an inspection with cross-border effect, ESMA shall, if requested to do so by one of the competent authorities, coordinate the investigation or inspection.

Where a competent authority receives a request from a competent authority of another Member State to carry out an on-site inspection or an investigation, it may do any of the following:

(a) carry out the on-site inspection or investigation itself;

(b) allow the competent authority which submitted the request to participate in an on-site inspection or investigation;

(c) allow the competent authority which submitted the request to carry out the on-site inspection or investigation itself;

(d) appoint auditors or experts to carry out the on-site inspection or investigation;

(e) share specific tasks related to supervisory activities with the other competent authorities.

Competent authorities may also cooperate with competent authorities of other Member States with respect to facilitating the recovery of pecuniary sanctions.

7. Without prejudice to Article 258 TFEU, a competent authority whose request for information or assistance in accordance with paragraphs 1, 3, 4 and 5 is not acted upon within a reasonable time or whose request for information or assistance is rejected may refer that rejection or absence of action within a reasonable timeframe to ESMA.

In those situations, ESMA may act in accordance with Article 19 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010, without prejudice to the possibility of ESMA acting in accordance with Article 17 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010.

8. Competent authorities shall cooperate and exchange information with relevant national and third-country regulatory authorities responsible for the related spot markets where they have reasonable grounds to suspect that acts, which constitute insider dealing, unlawful disclosure of information or market manipulation infringing this Regulation, are being, or have been, carried out. Such cooperation shall ensure a consolidated overview of the financial and spot markets, and shall detect and impose sanctions for cross-market and cross-border market abuses.

In relation to emission allowances, the cooperation and exchange of information provided for under the first subparagraph shall also be ensured with:

(a) the auction monitor, with regard to auctions of emission allowances or other auctioned products based thereon that are held pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 1031/2010; and

(b) competent authorities, registry administrators, including the Central Administrator, and other public bodies charged with the supervision of compliance under Directive 2003/87/EC.

ESMA shall perform a facilitation and coordination role in relation to the cooperation and exchange of information between competent authorities and regulatory authorities in other Member States and third countries. Competent authorities shall, where possible, conclude cooperation arrangements with third-country regulatory authorities responsible for the related spot markets in accordance with Article 26.

9. In order to ensure uniform conditions of application of this Article, ESMA shall develop draft implementing technical standards to determine the procedures and forms for exchange of information and assistance as referred to in this Article.

ESMA shall submit those draft implementing technical standards to the Commission by 3 July 2016.

Power is conferred on the Commission to adopt the implementing technical standards referred to in the first subparagraph in accordance with Article 15 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010.

(1)

Regulation (EC) No 713/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 establishing an Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (OJ L 211, 14.8.2009, p. 1).