TITLE IIOFFICIAL CONTROLS AND OTHER OFFICIAL ACTIVITIES IN MEMBER STATES
CHAPTER ICompetent authorities
Article 8Confidentiality obligations of the competent authorities
1
Competent authorities shall ensure that, subject to paragraph 3, information acquired when performing their duties in the context of official controls and other official activities is not disclosed to third parties where, under national or Union legislation, that information is, by its nature, covered by professional secrecy.
For that purpose, Member States shall ensure that appropriate confidentiality obligations are established for staff and other individuals employed during official controls and other official activities.
2
Paragraph 1 shall also apply to organic control authorities, delegated bodies and natural persons to which specific official control tasks have been delegated and to official laboratories.
3
Unless there is an overriding public interest in the disclosure of information covered by professional secrecy as referred to in paragraph 1, and without prejudice to situations where disclosure is required by Union or national legislation, such information shall include information whose disclosure would undermine:
a
the purpose of inspections, investigations or audits;
b
the protection of commercial interests of an operator or any other natural or legal person; or
c
the protection of court proceedings and legal advice.
4
The competent authorities, when determining whether there is an overriding public interest in the disclosure of information covered by professional secrecy as referred to in paragraph 1, shall take into account inter alia the possible risks to human, animal or plant health, or to the environment, and the nature, severity and extent of such risks.
5
The confidentiality obligations provided for in this Article shall not prevent the competent authorities from publishing or making otherwise available to the public information about the outcome of official controls regarding individual operators, provided, without prejudice to situations where disclosure is required by Union or national legislation, that the following conditions are met:
a
the operator concerned is given the opportunity to comment on the information that the competent authority intends to publish or make otherwise available to the public, prior to its publication or release, taking into account the urgency of the situation; and
b
the information which is published or made otherwise available to the public takes into account the comments expressed by the operator concerned or is published or released together with such comments.