TITLE IV

COMPETENT AUTHORITIES
CHAPTER II

COOPERATION BETWEEN COMPETENT AUTHORITIES OF DIFFERENT MEMBER STATES

Obligation to cooperate
Article 56
1
Competent authorities of different Member States shall cooperate with each other whenever necessary for the purpose of carrying out their duties under this Directive, making use of their powers whether set out in this Directive or in national law.
Competent authorities shall render assistance to competent authorities of the other Member States. In particular, they shall exchange information and cooperate in any investigation or supervisory activities.
In order to facilitate and accelerate cooperation, and more particularly exchange of information, Member States shall designate one single competent authority as a contact point for the purposes of this Directive. Member States shall communicate to the Commission and to the other Member States the names of the authorities which are designated to receive requests for exchange of information or cooperation pursuant to this paragraph.
2
When, taking into account the situation of the securities markets in the host Member State, the operations of a regulated market that has established arrangements in a host Member State have become of substantial importance for the functioning of the securities markets and the protection of the investors in that host Member State, the home and host competent authorities of the regulated market shall establish proportionate cooperation arrangements.
3
Member States shall take the necessary administrative and organisational measures to facilitate the assistance provided for in paragraph 1.
Competent authorities may use their powers for the purpose of cooperation, even in cases where the conduct under investigation does not constitute an infringement of any regulation in force in that Member State.
4
Where a competent authority has good reasons to suspect that acts contrary to the provisions of this Directive, carried out by entities not subject to its supervision, are being or have been carried out on the territory of another Member State, it shall notify this in as specific a manner as possible to the competent authority of the other Member State. The latter authority shall take appropriate action. It shall inform the notifying competent authority of the outcome of the action and, to the extent possible, of significant interim developments. This paragraph shall be without prejudice to the competences of the competent authority that has forwarded the information.
5
In order to ensure the uniform application of paragraph 2 the Commission may adopt, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 64(2), implementing measures to establish the criteria under which the operations of a regulated market in a host Member State could be considered as of substantial importance for the functioning of the securities markets and the protection of the investors in that host Member State.