The reference laboratory is to be assisted by F4scientific experts or official laboratories for the duties and tasks set out in 2.2, 2.4 and 3 of Annex 2 to Regulation (EC) No. 1831/2003.

For the purposes of paragraph 1, scientific experts or official laboratories must comply with the requirements set out in Annex I.

The F6scientific experts or official laboratories, including the F7reference laboratory, shall enter into a contract to define the relations between them, particularly in financial matters. In particular, the contract may provide that the F7reference laboratory is to distribute a share of the fees it receives to the F8scientific experts or official laboratories. Subject to this contract, the F7reference laboratory may issue guidance F9... as provided for in Article 12.

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F15Scientific experts or official laboratories, who are assisting the reference laboratory, are responsible for assisting the reference laboratory in the preparation of evaluation reports by sending comments to the reference laboratory within 20 days of the reception of the initial report.

F16A scientific expert or official laboratory, who, or which, is assisting the reference laboratory, must communicate to the reference laboratory by 30 January each year an estimate of the number of applications for which the F17scientific expert or official laboratory considers itself able to carry out the tasks for that year. The reference laboratory must make available annually to all the F18scientific experts or official laboratories a compilation of the estimates provided.