CHAPTER VII

MUTUAL ASSISTANCE

Cooperation between national competition authorities
Article 24
1
Member States shall ensure that where national administrative competition authorities carry out an inspection or interview on behalf of and for the account of other national competition authorities pursuant to Article 22 of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003, officials and other accompanying persons authorised or appointed by the applicant national competition authority shall be permitted to attend and actively assist the requested national competition authority, under the supervision of the officials of the requested national competition authority, in the inspection or interview when the requested national competition authority exercises the powers referred to in Articles 6, 7 and 9 of this Directive.
2
Member States shall ensure that national administrative competition authorities are empowered in their own territory to exercise the powers referred to in Articles 6 to 9 of this Directive, in accordance with their national law on behalf of and for the account of other national competition authorities in order to establish whether there has been a failure by undertakings or associations of undertakings to comply with the investigative measures and decisions of the applicant national competition authority, as referred to in Articles 6 and 8 to 12 of this Directive. The applicant national competition authority and the requested national competition authority shall have the power to exchange and to use information in evidence for this purpose, subject to the safeguards set out in Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003.

Requests for the notification of preliminary objections and other documents
Article 25
Without prejudice to any other form of notification made by an applicant authority in accordance with the rules in force in its Member State, Member States shall ensure that at the request of the applicant authority, the requested authority shall notify to the addressee on behalf of the applicant authority:
1. any preliminary objections to the alleged infringement of Article 101 or 102 TFEU and any decisions applying those Articles;
2. any other procedural act adopted in the context of enforcement proceedings which should be notified in accordance with national law; and
3. any other relevant documents related to the application of Article 101 or 102 TFEU, including documents which relate to the enforcement of decisions imposing fines or periodic penalty payments.

Requests for the enforcement of decisions imposing fines or periodic penalty payments
Article 26
1
Member States shall ensure that at the request of the applicant authority, the requested authority shall enforce decisions imposing fines or periodic penalty payments adopted in accordance with Articles 13 and 16 by the applicant authority. This shall apply only to the extent that, after having made reasonable efforts in its own territory, the applicant authority has ascertained that the undertaking or association of undertakings against which the fine or periodic penalty payment is enforceable does not have sufficient assets in the Member State of the applicant authority to enable recovery of such fine or periodic penalty.
2
For cases not covered by paragraph 1 of this Article, in particular cases where the undertaking or association of undertakings against which the fine or periodic penalty payment is enforceable is not established in the Member State of the applicant authority, Member States shall provide that the requested authority may enforce decisions imposing fines or periodic penalty payments adopted in accordance with Articles 13 and 16 by the applicant authority, where the applicant authority so requests.
Point (d) of Article 27(3) shall not apply for the purposes of this paragraph.
3
The applicant authority may only request the enforcement of a final decision.
4
Questions regarding limitation periods for the enforcement of fines or periodic penalty payments shall be governed by the national law of the Member State of the applicant authority.

General principles of cooperation
Article 27
1
Member States shall ensure that the requests as referred to in Articles 25 and 26 are executed by the requested authority in accordance with the national law of the Member State of the requested authority.
2
Requests referred to in Articles 25 and 26 shall be executed without undue delay by means of a uniform instrument which shall be accompanied by a copy of the act to be notified or enforced. Such uniform instrument shall indicate:
a
the name, known address of the addressee, and any other relevant information for the identification of the addressee;
b
a summary of the relevant facts and circumstances;
c
a summary of the attached copy of the act to be notified or enforced;
d
the name, address and other contact details of the requested authority; and
e
the period within which notification or enforcement should be effected, such as statutory deadlines or limitation periods.
3
For requests referred to in Article 26, in addition to the requirements set out in paragraph 2 of this Article, the uniform instrument shall provide the following:
a
information about the decision permitting enforcement in the Member State of the applicant authority;
b
the date when the decision became final;
c
the amount of the fine or periodic penalty payment; and
d
information showing the reasonable efforts made by the applicant authority to enforce the decision in its own territory.
4
The uniform instrument permitting enforcement by the requested authority shall constitute the sole basis for the enforcement measures taken by the requested authority, subject to the requirements of paragraph 2. It shall not be subject to any act of recognition, supplementing or replacement in the Member State of the requested authority. The requested authority shall take all necessary measures for the execution of this request, unless the requested authority invokes paragraph 6.
5
The applicant authority shall ensure that the uniform instrument is sent to the requested authority in the official language, or in one of the official languages, of the Member State of the requested authority, unless the requested authority and the applicant authority bilaterally agree on a case-by-case basis that the uniform instrument may be sent in another language. Where required under the national law of the Member State of the requested authority, the applicant authority shall provide a translation of the act to be notified or the decision permitting enforcement of the fine or periodic penalty payment into the official language, or into one of the official languages, of the Member State of the requested authority. This shall be without prejudice to the right of the requested authority and applicant authority to bilaterally agree, on a case-by-case basis, that such translation may be provided in a different language.
6
The requested authority shall not be obliged to execute a request referred to in Article 25 or 26 if:
a
the request does not comply with the requirements of this Article; or
b
the requested authority is able to demonstrate reasonable grounds showing how the execution of the request would be manifestly contrary to public policy in the Member State in which enforcement is sought.
If the requested authority intends to refuse a request for assistance referred to in Article 25 or 26 or requires additional information, it shall contact the applicant authority.
7
Member States shall ensure that, where requested by the requested authority, the applicant authority bears all reasonable additional costs in full, including translation, labour and administrative costs, in relation to actions taken as referred to in Article 24 or 25.
8
The requested authority may recover the full costs incurred in relation to actions taken as referred to in Article 26 from the fines or periodic penalty payments it has collected on behalf of the applicant authority, including translation, labour and administrative costs. If the requested authority is unsuccessful in collecting the fines or periodic penalty payments, it may request the applicant authority to bear the costs incurred.
Member States are free to provide that the requested authority may also recover the costs incurred in relation to the enforcement of such decisions from the undertaking against which the fine or periodic penalty payment is enforceable.
The requested authority shall recover the amounts due in the currency of its Member State, in accordance with the laws, regulations and administrative procedures or practices in that Member State.
The requested authority shall, if necessary, in accordance with its national law and practice, convert the fines or periodic penalty payments into the currency of the Member State of the requested authority at the rate of exchange applying on the date on which the fines or periodic penalty payments were imposed.

Disputes concerning requests for notification or enforcement of decisions imposing fines or periodic penalty payments
Article 28
1
Disputes shall fall within the competence of the competent bodies of the Member State of the applicant authority, and shall be governed by the law of that Member State, where they concern:
a
the lawfulness of an act to be notified in accordance with Article 25 or a decision to be enforced in accordance with Article 26; and
b
the lawfulness of the uniform instrument permitting enforcement in the Member State of the requested authority.
2
Disputes concerning the enforcement measures taken in the Member State of the requested authority or concerning the validity of a notification made by the requested authority shall fall within the competence of the competent bodies of the Member State of the requested authority and shall be governed by the law of that Member State.