1.In the event of a refusal of access, the requesting party shall have the right to complain within one month from the receipt of the refusal to the competent authority of the receiving CSD, CCP or trading venue that has refused access to it in accordance with Articles 33(3), 49(4), 52(2) or 53(3) of Regulation (EU) No 909/2014.
2.The competent authority referred to in paragraph 1 may request additional information concerning the refusal of access from the requesting and receiving parties.
The responses to the request for information referred to in the first subparagraph shall be sent to the competent authority within two weeks from the date of the receipt of the request.
In accordance with Article 53(3) of Regulation (EU) No 909/2014, within two business days from the date of the receipt of the complaint referred to in paragraph 1, the competent authority of the receiving party shall transmit the complaint to the relevant authority referred to in point (a) of Article 12(1) of Regulation (EU) No 909/2014 from the Member State of the place of establishment of the receiving party.
3.The competent authority referred to in paragraph 1 shall consult the following authorities on its initial assessment of the complaint within two months from the date of the receipt of the complaint, as appropriate:
(a)the competent authority of the place of establishment of the requesting participant in accordance with Article 33(3) of Regulation (EU) No 909/2014;
(b)the competent authority of the place of establishment of the requesting issuer in accordance with Article 49(4) of Regulation (EU) No 909/2014;
(c)the competent authority of the requesting CSD and the relevant authority referred to in point (a) of Article 12(1) of Regulation (EU) No 909/2014 responsible for the oversight of the securities settlement system operated by the requesting CSD in accordance with Articles 52(2) and 53(3) of Regulation (EU) No 909/2014;
(d)the competent authority of the requesting CCP or trading venue in accordance with Article 53(3) of Regulation (EU) No 909/2014 and the relevant authority referred to in point (a) of Article 12(1) of Regulation (EU) No 909/2014 responsible for the oversight of the securities settlement systems in the Member State where the requesting CCP and trading venues are established in accordance with Article 53(3) of Regulation (EU) No 909/2014.
4.The authorities referred to in points (a) to (d) of paragraph 3 shall respond within one month from the date of the request for consultation specified in paragraph 3. Where an authority referred to in points (a) to (d) of paragraph 3 does not provide its opinion within that time limit, it shall be deemed to have a positive opinion on the assessment provided by the competent authority referred to in paragraph 3.
5.The competent authority referred to in paragraph 1 shall inform the authorities referred to in points (a) to (d) of paragraph 3 of its final assessment of the complaint within two weeks from the time limit provided in paragraph 4.
6.Where one of the authorities referred to in points (a) to (d) of paragraph 3 disagrees with the assessment provided by the competent authority referred to in paragraph 1, any of them may refer the matter to ESMA within two weeks from the date when the competent authority referred to in paragraph 1 provides the information concerning its final assessment of the complaint in accordance with paragraph 5.
7.When the matter has not been referred to ESMA, the competent authority referred to in paragraph 1 shall send a reasoned reply to the requesting party within two working days from the time limit provided in paragraph 6.
The competent authority referred to in paragraph 1 shall also inform the receiving party and the authorities referred to in points (a) to (d) of paragraph 3 of the reasoned reply referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph within two working days from the date where it sends the reasoned reply to the requesting party.
8.In the event of a referral to ESMA referred to in paragraph 6, the competent authority referred to in paragraph 1 shall inform the requesting party and the receiving party of the referral within two working days from the date where the referral has been made.
9.Where the refusal by the receiving party to grant access to the requesting party is deemed to be unjustified following the procedure provided for in paragraphs 1 to 7, the competent authority referred to in paragraph 1 shall, within two weeks from the time limit specified in paragraph 7, issue an order requiring that receiving party to grant access to the requesting party within three months from the date when the order enters into force.
The time limit referred to in the first subparagraph shall be extended to eight months in case of customised links that require significant development of IT tools, unless otherwise agreed by the requesting and receiving CSDs.
The order shall include the reasons why the competent authority referred to in paragraph 1 concluded that the refusal by the receiving party to grant access was unjustified.
The order shall be sent to ESMA, the authorities referred to in points (a) to (d) of paragraph 3, the requesting party and the receiving party within two working days after the date when it enters into force.
10.The procedure referred to in paragraphs 1 to 9 shall also apply when the receiving party intends to withdraw access to a requesting party to whom it already provides its services.