Withdrawal of recognition
1. Upon its own initiative or at the request of a Member State, the Commission may adopt a decision to withdraw the recognition of an organisation, in the cases referred to in Article 7(1) points (a) to (e) of Regulation (EC) No 391/2009.
2. In order to determine whether a repeated and serious failure constitutes an unacceptable threat to safety or the environment in accordance with Article 7(1)(a) and (b) of Regulation (EC) No 391/2009, the following elements shall be taken into account:
(a)
the information and circumstances referred to in Article 7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 391/2009, particularly in light of the circumstances referred to in Articles 5 and 6 of this Regulation;
(b)
the criteria and, as the case may be, thresholds defined in Commission Decision 2009/491/EC.
3. When fines and periodic penalty payments imposed on a recognised organisation reach the maximum ceiling established in accordance with Article 6(3) of Regulation (EC) No 391/2009 and appropriate corrective action has not been taken by the recognised organisation, the Commission may consider that these measures have not attained their objective of removing any potential threat to safety or the environment.
Procedure to withdraw recognition at the request of a Member State
1. Where a Member State requests the Commission to withdraw the recognition of an organisation in accordance with Article 7(3) of Regulation (EC) No 391/2009, it shall address that request in writing to the Commission.
2. The requesting Member State shall explain the reasons for its request in full detail and by reference, as appropriate, to the criteria listed in Article 7(1) and the circumstances listed in Article 7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 391/2009, as well as the circumstances listed in paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 10 of this Regulation.
3. The requesting Member State shall provide the Commission with all necessary documentary evidence supporting its request, duly classified and numbered.
4. The Commission shall acknowledge receipt of the Member State's request in writing.
5. Where the Commission considers that additional information, clarification or evidence is necessary in order to take a decision, it shall inform the requesting Member State and invite it to supplement its submission as appropriate within a designated time limit, which shall not be less than four weeks. The Member State's request shall not be considered complete until all necessary information has been provided.
6. Within one year of receipt of a complete request, the Commission shall, if it concludes that the Member State's request is justified, address a statement of objections to the organisation concerned in accordance with Article 12, with a view to withdrawing its recognition in accordance with this Regulation. In this case, the requesting Member State shall be granted the consideration and rights of a Member State concerned under Chapter IV of this Regulation.
If, within the same time limit, the Commission concludes that the Member State's request is unjustified, it shall inform the requesting Member State, stating the reasons thereof and inviting that to submit its observations within a designated time limit, which shall not be less than three months. Within six months of receipt of these observations, the Commission shall either confirm that the request is unjustified or issue a statement of objections in accordance with the first subparagraph.
7. If the Commission concludes that the Member State's request is unjustified or that it remains incomplete after the expiry of the time limit referred to in paragraph 5, the Commission may choose to incorporate all or part of that request and its accompanying evidence into the assessment of the recognised organisation undertaken in accordance with Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 391/2009.
8. The Commission shall report yearly to the COSS on the requests for withdrawal submitted by the Member States as well as the on-going withdrawal procedures initiated by the Commission.
