Commission Decision of 22 December 2006 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 number C(2006) 6903) (Text with EEA relevance)

6.2.2007 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 32/192
COMMISSION DECISION
of 22 December 2006
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 number C(2006) 6903)
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2007/76/EC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 October 2004 on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws (the Regulation on consumer protection cooperation (1), and in particular Article 6(4), Article 7(3), Article 8(7), Article 9 (4), Article 10(3), Article 12(6), Article 13(5), and Article 15(6),
Whereas:
(1) Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 lays down the conditions under which the competent authorities in the Member States designated as responsible for the enforcement of the laws that protect consumers' interests are to cooperate with each other and with the Commission in order to ensure compliance with those laws and the smooth functioning of the internal market and in order to enhance the protection of consumers' economic interests.
(2) It provides for the establishment of networks between those competent authorities in the Member States.
(3) It is necessary to adopt measures for the implementation of the provisions of that Regulation on the mechanisms and conditions governing mutual assistance between competent authorities and on the position of the single liaison office.
(4) It is appropriate to lay down minimum requirements for the information to be supplied in all requests for mutual assistance to enable the system to operate effectively. Rules should also be laid down on the content of the standard forms through which information is exchanged to ensure greater efficiency and ease of processing of that information.
(5) Time-limits should be laid down for each step in the mutual assistance procedures to ensure that the system operates expeditiously.
(6) Rules should be laid down on the notification of intra-Community infringements to enable prompt and effective steps to be taken against them in all the Member States concerned.
(7) Since information supplied pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 may often be sensitive, it is necessary to lay down appropriate rules restricting access to it.
(8) Appropriate general arrangements should be made to ensure that communications are not hindered by language problems while permitting flexibility to address specific cases.
(9) Further measures may be adopted on the basis of the experience gained with the operation of the enforcement cooperation networks of competent authorities in the Member States.
(10) The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee set up by Article 19 (1) of Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004,