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4.3.2011 Official
Journal
of
the
European
Union L
59/63
COMMISSION DECISION
of 1 March 2011
amending Decision 2007/76/EC implementing Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 of the European
Parliament and of the Council on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the
enforcement of consumer protection laws as regards mutual assistance
(notified under document C(2011) 1165)
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2011/141/EU)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
participation in coordinated enforcement activities, and
the minimum information to be supplied in the
framework of such activities.
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European
Union,
(5) It
is
necessary
to
align
Decision
2007/76/EC
with
opinion 6/2007 ( 4 ) of the Working Party on the
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 of the
Protection of Individuals with regard to the Processing
European Parliament and of the Council of 27 October 2004
of Personal Data set up by Article 29 of Directive
on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the
95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the
enforcement of consumer protection laws (the Regulation on
Council ( 5 ) and the opinion of the European Data
consumer protection cooperation) ( 1 ), and in particular Articles
Protection Supervisor ( 6 ).
6(4), 7(3), 8(7), 9(4), 10(3), 12(6), 13(5) and 15(6) thereof,
(6) Decision
2007/76/EC
should
therefore
be
amended
Whereas:
accordingly.
(1) On
22
December
2006
( 2 ), the Commission adopted
(7) The
measures
provided
for
in
this
Decision
are
in
Decision 2007/76/EC implementing Regulation (EC) No
accordance with the opinion of the Committee set up
2006/2004 on cooperation between national authorities
by Article 19(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004,
responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection
laws as regards mutual assistance.
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
(2) Decision
2007/76/EC
was
amended
by
Commission
Decision 2008/282/EC (
Article 1

3 ) to establish the principles
governing the notification of enforcement measures, the
The Annex to Decision 2007/76/EC is amended in accordance
information to be supplied in notifications following the
with the Annex to this Decision.
notification of an alert and the coordination of market
surveillance and enforcement activities.
Article 2
(3) The
requirements
laid
down
by
Decision
2007/76/EC
in This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
respect of deletions in the database provided for in
Article 10(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 and in
respect of regular notifications need to be reviewed on
Done at Brussels, 1 March 2011.
the basis of the experience gained with the operation of
the enforcement cooperation network.
For the Commission
(4) It
is
also
appropriate
to
clarify
rules
governing
the
obli
John DALLI
gations of the coordinating competent authority, the
Member of the Commission
( 4 ) Opinion 6/2007/EC on data protection issues related to the
Consumer Protection Cooperation System (CPCS) 01910/2007/EN,
( 1 ) OJ L 364, 9.12.2004, p. 1.
WP 139, adopted on 21 September 2007.
( 2 ) OJ L 32, 6.2.2007, p. 192.
( 5 ) OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31.
( 3 ) OJ L 89, 1.4.2008, p. 26.
( 6 ) EDPS Opinion Ref. 2010-0692.

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L 59/64
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
4.3.2011
ANNEX
The Annex to Decision 2007/76/EC is amended as follows:
(1) point 2.1.3 is replaced by the following:
‘2.1.3. If no agreement can be reached, the requested authority shall issue a response supplying all the relevant
information at its disposal and indicating the investigation and enforcement actions taken or planned
(including time limits) no later than 14 days after the date of receipt of a request via its single liaison
office. The requested authority shall update the applicant authority on these actions on a regular basis as
appropriate but at least every 3 months until:
(a) any relevant information required to establish whether an intra-Community infringement has occurred or
to establish whether there is a reasonable suspicion it may occur has been sent to the applicant authority;
or
(b) the intra-Community infringement has ceased or the request has proved to be unfounded.’;
(2) in point 2.1.5, the following paragraphs are added:
‘A competent authority shall, as soon as it discovers that a request for mutual assistance pursuant to Articles 6, 7 and
8 of Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 contains erroneous data that can not be corrected by other means, request the
Commission to remove the information from the database as soon as technically possible and, in any case, not later
than 7 days after receiving the request for deletion.
All other information relating to requests for mutual assistance pursuant to Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No
2006/2004 shall be removed from the database 5 years after the closure of the case.’;
(3) in point 2.2.2 the following paragraph is added:
‘Founded alerts shall be removed from the database 5 years after they are issued.’;
(4) in Chapter 4, the heading is replaced by the following:
‘4. CHAPTER
4
–
ACCESS
TO
INFORMATION
EXCHANGED
AND
DATA
PROTECTION’;
(5) the following points 4.3 and 4.4 are inserted:
‘4.3. Commission access to data
The Commission’s access to data shall be limited to what is required under Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004. This
includes access to alerts pursuant to Article 7(1), to notifications pursuant to Articles 7(2) and 8(6), and to
information relating to the coordination of market surveillance and enforcement activities pursuant to Article 9
and to conditions pursuant to Article 15(5) of Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004.
4.4. Sensitive data
The processing by competent authorities of personal data linked to race, ethnicity, political opinions, religion,
trade-union membership, health or sex life shall be prohibited, unless the fulfilment of the obligations under
Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 is otherwise impossible and the processing of such data is permitted under
Directive 95/46/EC.
The use by competent authorities of personal data linked to offences, suspected offences and security measures
shall be limited to the specific purposes of mutual assistance as defined in Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004.’;
(6) Chapter 6 is replaced by the following:
‘6. CHAPTER 6 – COORDINATION OF MARKET SURVEILLANCE AND ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES
6.1. When applying Article 9(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004, the authorities who have agreed to coordinate
their enforcement activities may decide on all the necessary steps to ensure adequate coordination and shall
carry them out to the best of their abilities.

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EN
4.3.2011 Official
Journal
of
the
European
Union L
59/65
6.2. A competent authority may refuse to follow an invitation to participate in coordinated enforcement activities,
following consultation with the inviting authority if:
(a) judicial proceedings have already been initiated or a final judgment has already been passed in respect of the
same intra-Community infringements and against the same sellers or suppliers before the judicial authorities
in the Member State of the requested or applicant authority;
(b) in its opinion, following appropriate investigation, it is not concerned by the intra-Community infringement.
If a competent authority decides to decline an invitation to participate in coordinated enforcement activities it
shall state the reasons of its decision.
This point shall be without prejudice to the application of Articles 6 and 8 of Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004.
6.3. In order to fulfil their obligations pursuant to Article 9(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004, the competent
authorities concerned may decide that one of them shall coordinate the enforcement action. The competent
authorities, while taking into account the specific features of each case, shall in principle designate as coor
dinating authority the authority where the trader has its headquarters or main centre of activities, or where the
greater number of consumers affected are located.
6.4. The Commission shall facilitate the coordination of activities pursuant to Article 9(1) and (2) of Regulation (EC)
No 2006/2004 if invited.
6.5. The competent authority designated as coordinating authority pursuant to 6.3 shall at least be responsible for
the following:
(a) managing the communication between the authorities participating in the coordinated activities through
appropriate means;
(b) drafting a short summary report at the end of the coordinated activity when appropriate;
(c) closing the coordinated enforcement activity in the database as soon as technically possible and in any case
within 7 days after the last mutual assistance request issued between two competent authorities participating
in coordinated enforcement activities is closed by the applicant authority concerned.
The obligations of the coordinating authority shall not affect the information requirements incumbent upon the
other participating competent authorities in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 and its imple
menting rules.
6.6. In addition to the information requirements required for mutual assistance pursuant to Articles 6, 7 and 8 of
Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004, when a competent authority decides to invite other authorities to coordinate
enforcement activities it shall provide at least the following information:
(a) the details of the competent authority inviting to coordinate the enforcement activities;
(b) the name of the seller or supplier;
(c) the name of the product or service;
(d) the classification code;
(e) the advertising or sales medium involved;
(f) the legal basis;
(g) a short summary of the infringement;
(h) a summary of the aims of the coordinated activities.’.

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