Article 9 — Confidentiality restrictions and permissible uses of information

1.The Authorities acknowledge that any information that is exchanged between the Authorities is subject to Articles 76 and 78 of Directive 2014/65/EU.

2.The Authorities shall, subject to the applicable law and regulations in the relevant Member State, keep any non-public information related to cooperation arrangements or information exchange under this agreement confidential, including all of the following:
a) the request for cooperation itself and the content of that request;
b) any matter following such request, including any bilateral consultations between the Authorities and where appropriate, all the information regarding a refusal to establish cooperation arrangements;
c) unsolicited information provided by an authority and the fact that such information was provided.\

3.The Authorities shall ensure that their officials comply with the applicable confidentiality obligations.

4.Where, in order to execute a request for cooperation, the Requested Authority considers it necessary or desirable to disclose the fact that the Requesting Authority has made the request, the Requested Authority shall only make that disclosure after it has discussed the nature and extent of the required disclosure with the Requesting Authority and obtained its consent to the disclosure. Where the Requesting Authority does not provide its consent to the disclosure, the Requesting Authority shall instead be given the option of withdrawing its request.