TITLE VI

COMPETENT AUTHORITIES
CHAPTER II

Cooperation between the competent authorities of the Member States and with ESMA

Obligation to cooperate
Article 79
1
Competent authorities of different Member States shall cooperate with each other where necessary for the purpose of carrying out their duties under this Directive or under Regulation (EU) No 600/2014, making use of their powers whether set out in this Directive or in Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 or in national law.
Where Member States have chosen, in accordance with Article 70, to lay down criminal sanctions for infringements of the provisions referred to in that Article, they shall ensure that appropriate measures are in place so that competent authorities have all the necessary powers to liaise with judicial authorities within their jurisdiction to receive specific information relating to criminal investigations or proceedings commenced for possible infringements of this Directive and of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 and provide the same to other competent authorities and ESMA to fulfil their obligation to cooperate with each other and ESMA for the purposes of this Directive and of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014.
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.
Competent authorities may also cooperate with competent authorities of other Member States with respect to facilitating the recovery of fines.
In order to facilitate and accelerate cooperation, and more particularly exchange of information, Member States shall designate a single competent authority as a contact point for the purposes of this Directive and of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014. Member States shall communicate to the Commission, ESMA 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. ESMA shall publish and keep up-to-date a list of those authorities on its website.
2
When, taking into account the situation of the securities markets in the host Member State, the operations of a trading venue 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 trading venue 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 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 or of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014, 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 the competent authority of the other Member State and ESMA in as specific a manner as possible. The notified competent authority shall take appropriate action. It shall inform the notifying competent authority and ESMA of the outcome of the action and, to the extent possible, of significant interim developments. This paragraph shall be without prejudice to the competence of the notifying competent authority.
5
Without prejudice to paragraphs 1 and 4, competent authorities shall notify ESMA and other competent authorities of the details of:
a
any requests to reduce the size of a position or exposure pursuant to point (o) of Article 69(2);
b
any limits on the ability of persons to enter into a commodity derivative pursuant to point (p) of Article 69(2).
The notification shall include, where relevant, the details of the request or the demand pursuant to point (j) of Article 69(2) including the identity of the person or persons to whom it was addressed and the reasons therefor, as well as the scope of the limits introduced pursuant to point (p) of Article 69(2) including the person concerned, the applicable financial instruments, any limits on the size of positions the person can hold at all times, any exemptions thereto granted in accordance with Article 57, and the reasons therefor.
The notifications shall be made not less than 24 hours before the actions or measures are intended to take effect. In exceptional circumstances, a competent authority may make the notification less than 24 hours before the measure is intended to take effect where it is not possible to give 24 hours’ notice.
A competent authority of a Member State that receives notification under this paragraph may take measures in accordance with point (o) or (p) of Article 69(2) where it is satisfied that the measure is necessary to achieve the objective of the other competent authority. The competent authority shall also give notice in accordance with this paragraph where it proposes to take measures.
When an action under points (a) or (b) of the first subparagraph of this paragraph relates to wholesale energy products, the competent authority shall also notify the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) established under Regulation (EC) No 713/2009.
6
In relation to emission allowances, competent authorities shall cooperate with public bodies competent for the oversight of spot and auction markets and competent authorities, registry administrators and other public bodies charged with the supervision of compliance under Directive 2003/87/EC in order to ensure that they can acquire a consolidated overview of emission allowances markets.
7
In relation to agricultural commodity derivatives, competent authorities shall report to and cooperate with public bodies competent for the oversight, administration and regulation of physical agricultural markets under Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013.
8
The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 89 to establish the criteria under which the operations of a trading venue in a host Member State could be considered to be of substantial importance for the functioning of the securities markets and the protection of the investors in that host Member State.
9
ESMA shall develop draft implementing technical standards to establish standard forms, templates and procedures for the cooperation arrangements referred to in paragraph 2.
ESMA shall submit those draft implementing technical standards to the Commission by 3 January 2016.
Power is conferred on the Commission to adopt the implementing technical standards referred to in the first subparagraph in accordance with Article 15 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010.