CHAPTER I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Subject matter
Article 1
This Regulation lays down rules for the use of an Internal Market Information System (‘IMI’) for administrative cooperation, including processing of personal data, between competent authorities of the Member States and between competent authorities of the Member States and the Commission.

Establishment of IMI
Article 2
IMI is hereby formally established.

Scope
Article 3
1
IMI shall be used for administrative cooperation between competent authorities of the Member States and between competent authorities of the Member States and the Commission necessary for the implementation of Union acts in the field of the internal market, within the meaning of Article 26(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which provide for administrative cooperation, including the exchange of personal data, between Member States or between Member States and the Commission. Those Union acts are listed in the Annex.
2
Nothing in this Regulation shall have the effect of rendering mandatory the provisions of Union acts which have no binding force.

Expansion of IMI
Article 4
1
The Commission may carry out pilot projects in order to assess whether IMI would be an effective tool to implement provisions for administrative cooperation of Union acts not listed in the Annex. The Commission shall adopt an implementing act to determine which provisions of Union acts shall be subject to a pilot project and to set out the modalities of each project, in particular the basic technical functionality and procedural arrangements required to implement the relevant administrative cooperation provisions. That implementing act shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 24(3).
2
The Commission shall submit an evaluation of the outcome of the pilot project, including data protection issues and effective translation functionalities, to the European Parliament and the Council. Where appropriate, that evaluation may be accompanied by a legislative proposal to amend the Annex to expand the use of IMI to the relevant provisions of Union acts.

Definitions
Article 5
For the purposes of this Regulation, the definitions laid down in Directive 95/46/EC and Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 shall apply.
In addition, the following definitions shall also apply:
1. ‘IMI’ means the electronic tool provided by the Commission to facilitate administrative cooperation between competent authorities of the Member States and between competent authorities of the Member States and the Commission;
2. ‘administrative cooperation’ means the working in collaboration of competent authorities of the Member States or competent authorities of the Member States and the Commission, by exchanging and processing information, including through notifications and alerts, or by providing mutual assistance, including for the resolution of problems, for the purpose of better application of Union law;
3. ‘internal market area’ means a legislative or functional field of the internal market, within the meaning of Article 26(2) TFEU, in which IMI is used in accordance with Article 3 of this Regulation;
4. ‘administrative cooperation procedure’ means a pre-defined workflow provided for in IMI allowing IMI actors to communicate and interact with each other in a structured manner;
5. ‘IMI coordinator’ means a body appointed by a Member State to perform support tasks necessary for the efficient functioning of IMI in accordance with this Regulation;
6. ‘competent authority’ means any body established at either national, regional or local level and registered in IMI with specific responsibilities relating to the application of national law or Union acts listed in the Annex in one or more internal market areas;
7. ‘IMI actors’ means the competent authorities, IMI coordinators and the Commission;
8. ‘IMI user’ means a natural person working under the authority of an IMI actor and registered in IMI on behalf of that IMI actor;
9. ‘external actors’ means natural or legal persons other than IMI users that may interact with IMI only through separate technical means and in accordance with a specific pre-defined workflow provided for that purpose;
10. ‘blocking’ means applying technical means by which personal data become inaccessible to IMI users via the normal interface of IMI;
11. ‘formal closure’ means applying the technical facility provided by IMI to close an administrative cooperation procedure.