Regulation (EC) No 714/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council (repealed)Show full title

Article 20Provision of information and confidentiality

1.Member States and the regulatory authorities shall, on request, provide to the Commission all information necessary for the purposes of Article 13(4) and Article 18.

In particular, for the purposes of Article 13(4) and (6), regulatory authorities shall, on a regular basis, provide information on the actual costs incurred by national transmission system operators, as well as data and all relevant information relating to the physical flows in transmission system operators’ networks and the cost of the networks.

The Commission shall fix a reasonable time limit within which the information is to be provided, taking into account the complexity of the information required and the urgency with which the information is needed.

2.If the Member State or the regulatory authority concerned does not provide the information referred to in paragraph 1 within the given time-limit pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article, the Commission may request all information necessary for the purpose of Article 13(4) and Article 18 directly from the undertakings concerned.

When sending a request for information to an undertaking, the Commission shall at the same time forward a copy of the request to the regulatory authorities of the Member State in whose territory the seat of the undertaking is situated.

3.In its request for information under paragraph 1, the Commission shall state the legal basis of the request, the time-limit within which the information is to be provided, the purpose of the request, and the penalties provided for in Article 22(2) for supplying incorrect, incomplete or misleading information. The Commission shall fix a reasonable time-limit taking into account the complexity of the information required and the urgency with which the information is needed.

4.The owners of the undertakings or their representatives and, in the case of legal persons, the persons authorised to represent them by law or by their instrument of incorporation, shall supply the information requested. Where lawyers duly authorised so to act supply the information on behalf of their clients, the client shall remain fully responsible in the event that the information supplied is incomplete, incorrect or misleading.

5.Where an undertaking does not provide the information requested within the time-limit fixed by the Commission or supplies incomplete information, the Commission may by decision require the information to be provided. That decision shall specify what information is required and fix an appropriate time-limit within which it is to be supplied. It shall indicate the penalties provided for in Article 22(2). It shall also indicate the right to have the decision reviewed by the Court of Justice of the European Communities.

The Commission shall, at the same time, send a copy of its decision to the regulatory authorities of the Member State within the territory of which the person is resident or the seat of the undertaking is situated.

6.The information referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be used only for the purposes of Article 13(4) and Article 18.

The Commission shall not disclose information acquired pursuant to this Regulation of the kind covered by the obligation of professional secrecy.