Article 3 — Procedures for sending and processing requests for cooperation

1.A request for cooperation and a reply to a request for cooperation shall be made in writing in a durable medium. Both shall be addressed to the contact persons designated pursuant to paragraph 3.

2.The communication between the competent authority submitting a request for cooperation (the Requesting Authority) and the competent authority to which a request for cooperation has been sent (the Requested Authority) shall be made by the most expedient means, taking due account of confidentiality considerations, correspondence times, the volume of material to be communicated and the ease of access to the information by the Requesting Authority.

3.For the purpose of this agreement, each Authority shall designate one or several contact persons for communication purposes.

4.The Requesting Authority shall send its request for cooperation in the format provided for in Annex II to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/988 and include the information contained in that Annex, identifying in particular the relevance of the cooperation sought for the functioning of markets or the protection of investors in the host Member State and any issues relating to the confidentiality of information that may be obtained. The Requested Authority shall promptly provide any clarification requested pursuant to paragraph 5(b).

5.The Requested Authority shall do all of the following upon receipt of a request for cooperation:
a) acknowledge receipt of a request for cooperation as soon as possible and at least within 7 calendar days of its receipt, indicating the contact details of a contact person and, if possible at that stage, an estimated date of response;
b) request further clarifications in whatever form as soon as possible, in case it has any doubt in relation to the content of the precise cooperation requested;
c) promptly reply to the request for cooperation in the format set out in Annex III, providing the information required by that format.\

6.As soon as a delay of more than 7 calendar days beyond the estimated date of response as communicated pursuant to paragraph 5(a) becomes apparent, the Requested Authority shall notify the Requesting Authority accordingly. Where the request has been designated by the Requesting Authority as urgent, the Authorities shall agree on the frequency of updates concerning that request.

7.The Authorities shall consult each other expeditiously in order to resolve any difficulties that may arise in executing a request, including costs issues.

8.To ensure constant improvement of cooperation, the Authorities shall, where appropriate, provide feedback to each other on the usefulness of cooperation received, the outcome of the case in relation to which the cooperation was sought and any problems encountered in providing such cooperation.