Regulation (EU) 2019/1149 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

Article 9 U.K. Arrangements for concerted and joint inspections

1. An agreement to carry out a concerted inspection or a joint inspection between the participating Member States and the Authority shall set out the terms and the conditions for carrying out that inspection, including the scope and purpose of the inspection and, if relevant, any arrangements with regard to the participation of the staff of the Authority. The agreement may include provisions which enable concerted or joint inspections, once agreed and planned, to take place at short notice. The Authority shall establish a model agreement in accordance with Union law, as well as national law or practice.

2. Concerted and joint inspections shall be carried out in accordance with the law or practice of the Member States in which the inspections take place. Any follow-up to such inspections shall be carried out in accordance with the law or practice of the Member States concerned.

3. Concerted and joint inspections shall take place in an operationally effective manner. To that end, Member States shall, in the inspection agreement, grant officials from another Member State participating in such inspections an appropriate role and status, in accordance with the law or practice of the Member State where the inspection is carried out.

4. The Authority shall provide conceptual, logistical and technical support, and, where appropriate, legal expertise, if requested by the Member States concerned, including translation and interpretation services, to Member States carrying out concerted or joint inspections.

5. Staff of the Authority may attend the inspection as observers, may provide logistical support, and may participate in a concerted or joint inspection with the prior agreement of the Member State on whose territory they will be providing their assistance to the inspection in accordance with the Member State’s law or practice.

6. The authority of a Member State that carries out a concerted or joint inspection shall report to the Authority on the outcome of the inspection within that Member State and on the overall operational running of the concerted or joint inspection at the latest six months after the end of the inspection.

7. It shall be possible to use the information collected during concerted or joint inspections as evidence in legal proceedings in the Member States concerned, in accordance with the law or practice of that Member State.

8. Information on concerted and joint inspections coordinated by the Authority, as well as information provided by Member States and by the Authority as referred to in Article 8(2) and (3) shall be included in the reports that are to be submitted to the Management Board twice a year. Such reports shall be sent also to the Stakeholder Group, with sensitive information duly redacted. A yearly report on the inspections supported by the Authority shall be included in the Authority’s annual activity report.

9. In the event that the Authority, in the course of concerted or joint inspections, or in the course of any of its activities, becomes aware of suspected irregularities in the application of Union law, it may report those suspected irregularities, where appropriate, to the Member State concerned and to the Commission.