The Internal Market Information System (‘IMI’) established by Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 is a software application that is accessible via the internet and was developed by the Commission, in cooperation with the Member States, to help Member States comply with information exchange requirements in Union acts by providing a centralised communication mechanism to facilitate the cross-border exchange of information and mutual assistance.

Article 4(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 allows the Commission to carry out pilot projects to assess the effectiveness of IMI in the implementation of administrative cooperation provisions in Union acts not listed in the Annex to that Regulation.

Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 of the European Parliament and of the Council2 lays down the conditions under which competent authorities responsible for the enforcement of Union consumer protection laws are to cooperate and coordinate actions with each other and with the Commission. Article 35 of that Regulation requires the Commission to establish and maintain an electronic database for all communications between competent authorities, single liaison offices and the Commission under that Regulation. It also requires any information provided by entities issuing external alerts pursuant to Article 27 of that Regulation to be stored and processed in that electronic database. In addition, Article 23(3) of that Regulation provides for the European Banking Authority to act as observer in certain cases, and the European Banking Authority should therefore be able to access the electronic database in such a case to allow it to observe the relevant communications.

The Commission has adopted Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/22133 laying down the practical and operational arrangements for the functioning of the electronic database established under Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 as respects communications made under certain provisions of that Regulation. IMI could be an effective tool in the implementation of the administrative cooperation provisions falling within the scope of Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/2213 Those provisions should therefore be the subject of a pilot project under Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012.

Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 defines different actors responsible for applying the administrative cooperation provisions laid down in that Regulation. In order to guarantee the effective application of those provisions, those actors should be considered as IMI actors for the purposes of the pilot project.

IMI should provide the technical functionality allowing the competent authorities, the single liaison offices, the Commission, and other actors to fulfil their obligations under Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 falling within the scope of Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/2213 IMI should ensure that access to IMI by those actors is restricted to the functionality for which they need access in order to fulfil their obligations under that Regulation.

IMI allows IMI actors to communicate and interact with each other in a structured manner. This means that structured forms have to be used for the exchange and processing of all information via IMI. Use of these forms will therefore fulfil any requirements in Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 to use standard forms for communications that fall within the scope of the pilot project (for example, the requirement in Article 13(3) of that Regulation).

Article 35(3) of Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 provides that data relating to infringements must be stored in the electronic database for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which they were collected and processed and in any case for no longer than 5 years from the end of the relevant cooperation. Therefore, IMI should ensure that as soon as data relating to an infringement are no longer needed, the data can be deleted from IMI, and that such data are in any event deleted by no later than 5 years after the date specified point (a), (b) or (c) of the second subparagraph of Article 35(3) of Regulation (EU) 2017/2394. Only a record of the information exchanges should remain accessible in IMI. This provision should operate without prejudice to Article 14 of Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 insofar as the application of that Article would result in the earlier blocking or deletion of personal data stored as part of the pilot project.

Pursuant to Article 4(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012, the Commission is to submit an evaluation of the outcome of the pilot project to the European Parliament and the Council. It is appropriate to specify the date by which the evaluation is to be submitted. In the interests of consistency, the date specified should be the same as the date by which the report required by Article 40 of Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 is to be submitted.

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established by Article 24 of Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012,