Member States shall designate a notifying authority that shall be responsible for setting up and carrying out the necessary procedures for the assessment and notification of conformity assessment bodies and the monitoring of notified bodies, including compliance with Article 20.

Notified bodies shall be monitored at least every two years. The Commission may choose to participate as an observer in the monitoring exercise.

Member States may decide that the assessment and monitoring referred to in paragraph 1 are to be carried out by a national accreditation body.

Where the notifying authority delegates or otherwise entrusts the assessment, notification or monitoring referred to in paragraph 1 to a body which is not a governmental entity, that body shall be a legal entity and shall comply mutatis mutandis with the requirements laid down in Annex V. In addition, it shall have in place arrangements to cover liability arising out of its activities.

The notifying authority shall take full responsibility for the tasks performed by the body referred to in paragraph 4.

The notifying authority shall comply with the requirements laid down in Annex V.